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LECTURE 8 



ON THE 



NATURE AND END 



OF THE 



SACRED OFFICE, 

AND ON THE 

DIGNITY, DUTY, QUALIFICATIONS, AND 
CHARACTER, 

OF THE 

SACRED ORI EL 




BY JOHN SMITH, D.D. 

ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF CAMPBELTON. 



BALTIMORE, 

PUBLISHED BY A. NEAL, BOOK-SELLER, WATER-STREET. 
Magill and Clime, Printers. 

1810. 



V 



About fifteen years ago, the writer of the 
following, sheets having been appointed to 
preach before the Annual Meeting of the Sy- 
nod of Argyll, was led, by this circumstance, 
to cast his eye on such books as fell in his 
way, relative to the Nature and End of the 
Sacred Office. He was disappointed in not 
finding that any treated of the subject fully 
and in a distinct and regular manner. He 
. nought it might be of use to the cause of re- 
ligion in general, and especially to young di- 
vines, to have the nature, extent, and impor- 
tance of those duties which the ministers of 
religion are called to discharge, and of that 
character which they are called to bear, deline~ 
ated and exhibited in one connected view. 
With this impression upon his mind, he laid 
down his plan, and filled it up with the most 
important thoughts which occurred to him upon 
the different parts of it, supported occasionally 
by the sentiments of others on the same sub- 
ject. 

But the greatest difficulty still remained. 
The scriptures, from which he wished to take 



IV PREFACE. 

his view of the Nature of the Sacred Office, 
seemed to him to point out a higher walk than 
what is sometimes pursued; and, while he 
wished to point to the same path, he was 
afraid that what was really a labour of love, 
might be considered by some as a censure. In 
order to get over this difficulty, and to avoid 
the imputation of assuming more than belong- 
ed to him, he wished to publish these discour- 
ses under the veil of a feigned name, as the 
supposed lectures of a teacher of former times ;* 
to whose age and manner of thinking and act- 
ing, some things contained in them might ap- 
pear more suitable than to the fashion of the 
present times. But some of his friends, for 
whose judgment he has the* utmost deference, 
urged him to strip them of this little machine- 
ry, and to speak in his own name. The times 
determined him to comply, and to bear any 
animadversion, if such awaited him, for ha- 
ving discharged what he considered as his 
duty, and the duty of all who are engaged in 
the same cause ; which is, to provoke one ano- 
ther to love and to good zvorks. 

* Of St. Columba, the venerable Abbot of Iona, and 
the Apostle and Patron Saint of the Ancient Scots, an ac- 
count of whose life was intended to be prefixed to them r 
but which is now published apart. 



PREFACE, 



The times are awful, almost beyond exam- 
ple. A justly offended God threatens to de- 
prive us, as he did our neighbours, of that holy 
religion, of which too many have little more than 
the name and mere profession; and all ourna- 
tional efforts are vain, if his favour is not first 
obtained. Our only safety lies in effecting a 
reconciliation with him, by repentance and re- 
formation of manners. And, in this work, the 
ministers of religion should take the lead, and 
stir up all the spirit that is in them. " Nunc 
a omnes vocat ultimus labor." The axe is laid 
to the root of the tree, and we may fear it shall 
be cut down, if it bear not more and better 
fruit. We, it is to be feared, as well as the peo- 
ple, if weighed in the balance, will be found 
wanting. What though our morals should be al- 
lowed to be correct, and our doctrines to be pure^ 
may we not still be wanting in what is no less 
absolutely necessary, especially at present^ 
strenuous exertion and ardent zeal ? Have not 
we, conforming ourselves too much to the fa- 
shion of the times, fallen from our first love, as 
well as the people? And does not the voice of 
Providence sound in our ears, as well as in 
theirs, Repent, and do the first works, or else I 
will come quickly ? 

True religion is at a low ebb ; and both open 
enemies and secret foes attempt to destroy the 



VI KiEFACE. 

little of it that remains. But, if we exert our- 
selves, it is impossible to say what we may yet 
effect. The best, and the greatest number too, 
I trust, are yet disposed to show favour to relit 
gion, and capable of being roused to support 
it, if we raise our voice aloud, and awake them. 
Zeal and exertion may yet save us. By zeal 
and exertion, a very small number once con- 
verted the whole nation to Christianity ; and, 
by the like means, through the blessing of 
God, we may yet effect a task much less ardu- 
ous than theirs. The laws of our country sup- 
port us ; and the rich and great, if they know 
even their worldly interest, will encourage our 
zeal, and co-operate with our exertion ; for 
they may now see, that, on the existence of re- 
ligion, their existence too depends. The poor 
will applaud our zeal, and listen with pleasure 
to our more animated strain of preaching : For, 
what have they remaining, if fashionable philo- 
sophy and novel doctrines should succeed in 
taking away from them the consolations of reli- 
gion ? 

Although the following sheets relate chiefly 
to the Sacred Order, it is hoped they may be 
perused by others also with advantage. All 
christians, in all stations, should consider them- 
selves as persons who expect soon to be priests 



PREFACE. Vll 

mid kings with God; and should be concerned 
to promote his glory, and their own salvation, 
by giving every aid in their power, to the 
revival of a spirit of piety, devotion and reli- 
gion. In such a period as the present, they 
should rouse themselves up from that torpid in- 
difference to religion, which has unhappily per- 
vaded all ranks of people, and endeavour to 
rekindle the decaying flame, lest either the 
lamp should of itself go out, or lest God should, 
in judgment, remove the candlestick out of it's 
place. How dark and full of horror would be the 
night that should then ensue ! Should the sun be 
torn from the firmament, the world would not 
be in so dismal a state, as that in which it 
should be left, if the light of Christianity should 
be extinguished, and only the dim taper of rea- 
son substituted in it's place. This taper which 
owes all it's boasted light to borrowed beams, 
would be of little avail, if the sun should set. 
The human mind would soon be debased by 
the grossest superstition, and the most polish- 
ed nations would sink again into barbarism, 
ignorance, and idolatry. Such is the tenden- 
cy of the spirit which is at present work- 
ing, and of those principles which are at pre- 
sent spreading. The danger of their preva- 
lence is great and urgent, and every lover of 



Vlll PREFACE* 

mankind should do all in his power to oppose 
them- This is a duty which admits of no de- 
lay, and calls for every exertion. If the follow- 
ing pages shall in the smallest degree, contri- 
bute to rouse pastor or people to a higher sense 
of ther duty and their danger, and to a great- 
er regard for religion, the author has his wish. 
In any event, he has the present satisfaction, 
and expects the future rew r ard, of having in- 
tended well. 

May God endow all Christians with the spi- 
rit of their calling, and with a warmer zeal for 
Christianity ! May he endow all Ministers of 
the Gospel with the spirit of their office ! And, 
as he has ordained them to be the light of the 
world, may their light so shine before men, that 
they, seeing their good works, may glorify their 
Father which is in heaven ! 



LECTURES 



ON THE 



SACREB OFFICE 
OF THE GOSPEL MINISTRY. 



LECTURE I. 



Introduction Of the Nature and End of the Sacred 

Office, and the Qualifications necessary for the Dis- 
charge of it. 

MY DEAR BRETHREN, 

When we put others in mind of their duty so of- 
ten, it cannot surely be improper to be sometimes ad- 
monished of our own...." It is readily allowed (may 
" some one say) ; but what right have you to assume 

" the office?" I claim no peculiar right to it, my 

dear brother ; nor do I set about it from any vain 
persuasion of being possessed of any sanctity or ta- 
lents superior to yours. No ; to speak in a becom- 
ing manner of the most august office under heaven, 
and to address the most venerable of the sons of 
men, would, I well know, require gifts and graces 
which heaven has not yet been pleased to bestow on 
me. And if any other had stood forth to discharge 
a duty, which all must allow to be proper, and which 
some will deem to be necessary, or at least to be sea- 
sonable, I should have gladly sat down at his feet and 
listened. For I am sensible that I need the counsel 

B 



2 LECTURE I. 

which I give, much more, perhaps, than the greater 
part of those who may receive it ; and, therefore, a 
sense of it's being a duty incumbent upo^ H of us, to 
admonish one another, and to provoke unto love and 
to good 'works, is that alone which prompts me to un- 
dertake this labour of love at present. t In the pro- 
secution of it, I am aware I must, like many other 
preachers, endure a degree of self-reproach, for falling 
short of that holiness, or moral excellence, which I 
reckon my duty to recommend. But this pain I shall 
willingly endure, if I may be able to persuade others, 
or myself, to a greater degree of diligence in our call- 
ing than we have hitherto attained. And, as I would 
utter nothing inconsistent with that respect and regard 
which I feel for my brethren, so I hope to be forgiv- 
en if 1 speak my sentiments also with that undisguis- 
ed freedom which may be justly expected from the 
character which we all bear \ for we are all ambassa- 
dors for Christ. 

Ambassadors for Christ ! how august the title ! 
how high the character ! What may not God and 
men expect from those who are called to the honour 
of bearing it ! The idea suggests at once every thing 
that is venerable, every thing that is holy. It directs 
us to look for qualifications of the highest order ; for 
a conduct of the purest kind. For, if stations of hon- 
our and trust among men require persons of know- 
ledge, fidelity, zeal, and the like accomplishments, to. 
fill them, much more does our office require that we 
should be possessed of qualifications corresponding, in 
some measure, to the high and holy vocation where- 
with we are called. 

f Nee prerogativa mihimet sciential si haec meis consa- 
cerdotibus charitatis intuitu praerogem, vindicabo, aut vit» 
perfectoe me esse fateor, cum de vita perfecta alios moneo ; 
sed potiuscum haec ad illos loqui audeo, simul cum illis pusc 
loquor audi am. D. Jmbros,. dc D?gn f Sacerd.- 



LECTURE I. 5 

By taking a particular view of this calling, and of 
these qualifications, we shall be able to discover, not 
only what we are, but likewise what we ought to be. 
Let us therefore enter upon this survey with impar- 
tiality and candour : Let us have an eye to our own 
heart and conduct as we go along, that we may see in 
what things we are deficient, and that we may rouse 
up our faculties to acquire, or to excel in every ac- 
complishment that should be found in the sacred 
character of the ministers of Jesus. 

Of the Nature and End of the Sacred Office, much 
needs not here be said. It has been the general prac- 
tice of all nations to have a distinct order of men set 
apart and consecrated, in order to officiate and pre- 
side in holy things, and to instruct men in moral and 
religious duties. This is more especially the case un- 
der the gospel dispensation. In the gospel we are told 
that the whole world lieth in wickedness ; that Christ 
came to call it to repentance and salvation ; and that 
to his apostles, and their followers, he hath committed 
the ministry of reconciliation. As my Father hath 
sent me, even so send I you. The great end, there- 
fore, of the Christian ministry, is, after the example 
of Christ, to teach and persuade men to be holy and 
happy. So it clearly appears to be, from our Sa- 
viour's commission to the apostle of the Gentiles ; / 
send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto 
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an 
inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith 
that is in ?ne.t The end of every other office is the 
attainment of some temporal good; this alone pro- 
poses eternal felicity. The importance of every 
other office, therefore, falls as far short of this, as 
three-score and ten years fall short of eternity. 

t Actsxxxvi. 17, 16. 



4 LECTURE L 

With regard to the qualifications requisite for this 
office, and the proper manner of discharging it, the 
precepts and example of Christ, and of his apostles, 
are the best, and indeed the only rule to direct us. 
Now these precepts enjoin us, and these examples 
teach us, to be watchful and wise, or prudent and cir- 
cumspect, in all our conduct. They require of us to 
have light and knowledge ourselves, that we may be 
qualified to teach others, and not be as the blind lead- 
ing the blind, lest we should both fall into the ditch. 
They require of us to have our own minds entirely 
filled with piety, that we may be as salt to preserve 
the rest of the world from corruption. They require 
of us to be given to prayer, as the best means of pre- 
serving ourselves from the danger of temptation, and 
of obtaining the favour of God, both to ourselves and 
others. They bid us set our affections on the things 
that are above, and show a heavenly-mindedness be- 
coming our hopes and high profession. They re- 
quire of us to be holy in our conversation, exemplar?/ 
in our life, and meek and lowly in our mind. They 
require of us the warmest zeal for the glory of God, 
the most intense love to the souls of men, and the 
strongest sensibility and sympathy for their temporal 
and spiritual necessities. They require of us to de- 
clare the whole counsel of God with fidelity, plain- 
ness, force and gracefulness ; speaking from the abun- 
dance of the heart, and solicitous about the success of 
our labours. They require of us to be attentive to 
the daily duties of our office, teaching in season and 
out of season, and from house to house, exhorting, 
reproving, comforting, and maintaining discipline and 
order, according to the various exigencies of each 
one of that flock over which the Holy Ghost hath 
made us overseers. Moreover, they require of us 
to be mortified and self -denied, and not to conform 
ourselves to the world, either in its sinful pursuits or 
vain amusements, but to the example of our Lord, 



LECTURE I. 5 

and to the precepts of his gospel ; and charge us to 
suffer none who will not do all this to have lot or part 
m the holy office. 

Such, my brethren, are our Master's and his apos- 
tles' precepts, in regard to the qualifications requisite 
for the sacred office, and the proper manner of dis- 
charging it : and we shall have frequent occasion to 
see, in the sequel, that in their own lives they were all 
exemplified. The office is still the same, and the same 
qualifications are required of all who come forward 
to serve in it. The sum of these is, to be as holy as 
possible ourselves, and as diligent and zealous as pos- 
sible, to make others also holy. 

To have always this clear and fixed view of the 
end of our office, would be of great moment towards 
enabling us to discharge aright all its duties. It would 
direct us what to say, and how to say it, so as may 
best answer the purpose. It would furnish us with 
a just standard for estimating every thought, and 
teach us what to receive, and what to reject, when 
we compose our sermons. This, if duly attended to, 
would lead us to the most useful and interesting sub- 
jects, to the most cogent and convincing arguments, 
to the most earnest and affecting manner, and to the 
most powerful and persuasive language. It would 
entirely banish from our pulpits those cold and un- 
important disquisitions by which we make a show of 
learning, and those glittering and rhetorical harangues 
by which we make a parade of speech. It would 
make us anxious to edify and to persuade, rather 
than to please or amuse, and to recommend our 
cause, and not ourselves, to those to whom we 
preach. Yes ; for he whose only aim is to save 
souls, is in no danger of falling into those fatal, but 
common errors. To please or get applause; is never 
the object with him, but to convince, to persuade, to 
profit. Wholly devoted to his heavenly office, he 



6 LECTURE I. 

cares for nothing but what tends to make himself 
and others better and wiser. 

Be this, therefore, the star by which we shall ever 
direct our course, and let us keep our eye continual- 
ly fixed upon it ; if we wish to save our own souls 
and those that hear us. This premised, we go on 
to consider, in a more particular manner, the qua- 
lifications necessary for those who would discharge 
the sacred office aright, and be not only in name, but 
in deed, the ministers of the gospel of Jesus* 



LECTURE H. 

That a Minister of the Gospel should be a man of 
Prudence. 

WITH a just and fixed view of the end of our of- 
fice must ever be connected that prudence and good 
sense which is so necessary to conduct us through it. 
This is, I may say, the first requisite in a minister of 
the gospel. On this foundation must all the other 
parts of the sacred character be built, otherwise the 
superstructure will never stand. Without pruclence 7 
indeed, few or none of them have any value, With- 
out prudence, learning and eloquence are so far from 
being useful, that they too often do harm. Without 
prudence, zeal may degenerate into fury, and piety 
itself into fanaticism or mental delusion. In a word, 
without the spirit of wisdom and a sound mind, a 
minister, whatever may be his other gifts and graces, 
will be more likely to prejudice the cause of the gos- 
pel, than to do it real or essential service. 

It is with reason, therefore, that we are required 
to be watchful and circumspect in all things, to take 
heed to ourselves, and to be wise as serpents, as well 
as to be innocent as doves, t The vast importance of 
our office indispensibly requires us to be so. Yes, 
my brethren, when we sail a stormy and tempestu- 
ous sea, in a vessel which bears so precious a cargo 
(if I may so speak) as the souls of immortal beings, 
and when we have taken upon us to pilot this vessel 
to the port, and to steer her through the rocks and 
shallows in which we are in so much danger of 
making shipwreck ; heavens ! what skill and pru- 
dence must be necessary for a post of such hazard 

$ % Tiro, iy, 6, Luke xy, 3 



8 LECTURE IT. 

and trust, in order to make a happy voyage, and save 
our own souls and those of others ! 

Take any other view which you please of our of- 
fice, and you will find that it always calls for the 
most consummate prudence. Yes, my brethren, 
when we fight with principalities and powers, for 
the great prize of immortality, and take upon us to 
lead a band of souls, in this holy warfare, to warn 
them of the assaults and stratagems of a powerful, 
artful, and invisible enemy, and of the no less formi- 
dable danger to which their own vicious inclinations 
and passions expose them ; and when we, moreover, 
urge them to the necessary discipline and duty of 
their warfare, is not the highest prudence, even the 
wisdom thai is from above, indispensibly necessary, to 
make us acquit ourselves properly in so very impor- 
tant a station ? 

Add to this, that the tempers, humours, and cir- 
cumstances of men, are so various ; and the methods 
to be used for gaining them so different ; the regard 
to time, place, and character, so much to be observ- 
ed ; and a nice discernment in all these matters so 
absolutely necessary, that a minister, of all the men 
in the world, has most need of perfect prudence, in 
order to conduct himself with propriety on every oc- 
casion, both in his private and public capacity. 

In his private capacity (if we may use the phrase 
in speaking of a minister), the prudence of an angel 
would hardly guard him from censure. If he is 
studious, retired, and reserved, some will call him 
morose, unsocial, and distant ; if he is cheerful, fond 
of society, and ready to mix with the world, others 
will charge him with levity and profaneness ; if a 
calm and cool temper be a predominant feature in 
his character, he will be suspected of lukewarmness- 
and indifference ; and if he be warm, earnest, and 
animated, he will, by some, be called a bigot and en- 
thusiast. Some will blame him if his sanctity is not 



LECTURE 111 

more than human, while others quarrel with him only 
for being over-righteous. Thus, the Jews censured alike 
the austerity of the Baptist, and the familiarity of the 
Saviour.* For John came neither eating nor drink- 
ing, and they said, he hath a devil. The son of man 
came eating and drinking ; that is, partaking of the 
innocent enjoyments of society, and they said, Be- 
hold, a man gluttonous and a wine biber, a friend of 
publicans and sinners. So crooked and perverse a 
generation (and the race will never be extinct) are 
fitly compared to fro ward children in the market- 
place, who would not be pleased with either the mer- 
ry or mournful songs of their associates. A minis- 
ter, therefore, in order to give as little offence as pos- 
sible, must utter every word of his conversation with 
caution, and order every step of his life with circum- 
spection. Wherever he goes, he must take prudence 
hand in hand with him : And prudence, wherever 
she is guide, if not to man, at least to God, will al- 
ways justify her children. 

In his public teaching, in like manner, it is pru- 
dence that must direct a minister in the choice of 
proper subjects, and in treating those subjects in a. 
manner suited to the exigencies and capacity of his 
audience. It is prudence that must preserve him in 
his public, as well as in his private walk, from doing 
or saying any thing that might give cause of offence, 
or that might be construed into such ; that the minis- 
try may not be blamed. 

But it is not only in his private life, and public 
teaching, that a minister has need of prudence. In 
every part of his intercourse with his people, he 
stands equally in need of it ; particularly in main- 
taining discipline and order. His office calls on him 
to watch over every member of his flock, to preserve 
or recover them from sin and error, to instruct the 

*Matth. xi. 18, 19. 

c 



1Q LECTURE II. 

ignorant, excite the negligent, confirm the weak, 
comfort the afflicted, satisfy the doubting, encourage 
the desponding, admonish and rebuke the disorderly. 
It calls on him to accommodate himself to every 
case, and to every capacity ; that, if possible, he may 
direct and lead each and all under his care in the 
paths of everlasting salvation. And what virtue is 
there for "which he has so much occasion in doing all 
this, as prudence ? In a word, it is prudence, or good 
sense, that must for ever direct him to the best means 
of arriving at the great end of his office, the saving of 
the souls committed to his care. 

Hence, in those emblematical representations which 
we have of ministers in the word of God,t we find 
that this makes always a principal part. With the 
face of the lion, of the eagle, and of the ox, in those 
symbolical figures, the face of a man is always con- 
joined. If the face of a lion denotes that we should 
have boldness and courage •; if that of the ox denotes 
that w T e should have patience and fitness for labour ; 
and if the eagle, which has a piercing eye, soars aloft 
and is swift in motion, denotes that we should be clear 
sighted in the truths of the gospel, that we should 
have sublime sentiments of devotion, and be heaven 
ly-minded, as w r ell as zealous and active in duty ; so 
the face of a man denotes, that w r e should be emi- 
nently endowed with prudence and sagacity. And 
to show still more how necessary this virtue is in 
every part of our conduct, and in every department 
of our office, all the figures which constitute the em- 
blem are represented as being full of eyes ; to teach 
us that prudence must direct every step of our life, 
pervade every part of our office, and mix with every 
other ingredient in our character. Indeed, with ail 

the other qualifications in the world, a minister with- 

— t— — . — ,..-., ,..,.. i . — - 

fEzek. i. 10. Rev. \v. 7, 8, &c, 



LECTURE II. 11 

out prudence should have- nothing to do with the 
holy office. 

Accordingly, all religions, false as well as true, 
have required their sacred office to be filled with the 
wisest and best of human beings. " The first man," 
says the Vedam, or sacred book of the Bramins, " a£- 
" ter his creation, said to God, ' There will be on 
" earth a variety of occupations, and every man will 
" not be fit for all ; how then are men to be distin- 
' : guished?' God answered him saying, 'They who 
" are endowed with the best intellects, and who dis- 
" cover the greatest prudence and propensity to virtue, 
" are always to be Bramins? or ministers of religion ; 
* let the rest be what they will. 

And justly might it be so ordained ; for if (ac- 
cording to the dread observation of Platot) the care 
of our flocks and herds is always committed to be- 
ings of a superior species, and not to a sheep, a goat, 
or a bull, the care of men (and more especially of the 
souls of men) requires, and deserves, not only the 
highest measure of prudence that falls to the share of 
mortals, but almost the wisdom of the gods or genii. 
The man, therefore, who aspires to this exalted call- 
ing, should aspire to the perfection of celestial natures, 
purify his soul from every thing gross and earthly, 
subdue his appetites, regulate his passions, inform his 
understanding, and, in all his demeanour, show a 
wisdom and prudence almost more than human. On 
the solid basis of prudence must every other minis- 
terial qualification be built, if we wish to give beau- 
ty, strength, and permanency to the edifice. Of 
other natural talents, I shall only say, that they are 
not to be dispensed with ; while I mention prudence 
as the most essential. Indeed, where prudence is, the 
rest are seldom wanting.; 

t De Legib. I. iv. Vid. Julian. 'Ep. ad Themist. 
t Nullum numen abest, si sitprudentia. Juv. 



LECTURE III. 



Thai a Minister of the Gospel should be a man of 
Knowledge. 

THE first preachers of the gospel were divinely in- 
spired, and therefore under no necessity of acquiring 
knowledge by diligent application to study. But 
ever since Christianity has been fully established, the 
case has been otherwise ; for God seldom or never 
works by miracle when ordinary means will serve. 
Now, therefore, an early, close, and persevering ap- 
plication to study, must stand instead of inspiration, 
and qualify men to become servants of God in the 
holy ministry. 

Accordingly, every well-ordered church, aware of 
the necessity of light and knowledge in those who 
are to dispense them to others, has always taken care 
to regulate the studies, and to examine into the learn- 
ing of her probationers. I take it for granted, there- 
fore, my brethren, that you have gone through a 
regular course of all those studies which the church 
has wisely prescribed to her candidates, and that your 
minds have been furnished with at least a competent- 
knowledge of all the branches of literature. I trust 
that, besides being thorough masters of the language 
in which you are to exercise your ministry, you are 
not unacquainted with the learned languages ; espe- 
cially those in which the scriptures were originally 
written ; and also with the most useful of the modern 
tongues. These open the measures of learning, and 
allow us to gather what we choose from every age 
and from every clime. I trust you have studied the 
politer parts of literature, and formed your taste on 
the best models of fine writing, and according to the 



LECTURE III. 13 

justest rules of criticism. These will enable you to 
discern and to relish the true beauties of writing ; 
and, what is of more consequence, enable you to 
adorn your own discourses, and to give every senti- 
ment the dress which best becomes it. 

I presume you have also learned the science of rea- 
soning justly, in order to assist your own faculties 
in the search of truth, and to enable you to propose 
it to others with force and clearness. You have also 
studied, I hope, the great volume which nature opens 
to your view, and which is so well calculated to in- 
spire us with the most awful and sublime ideas of it's 
author. It is necessary too, my brethren, that we 
study attentively human nature, in ail it's powers, 
passions, and affections, for which we should care- 
fully consult our own breasts, observe men and man- 
ners, and get as thorough an acquaintance as we can 
with history. The history of different nations and 
of different ages, with their various characters, cus- 
toms and manners, may teach us many important 
lessons for the direction of our own conduct, and 
furnish us with rich materials for the direction and 
improvement of others. The history of the church 
particularly, in all it's stages, and of those nations 
more immediately connected with it, will be of the 
utmost importance for understanding the scriptures, 
in which there are so many allusions to the customs 
and manners of ancient times. 

We must especially study that science which 
teaches the importance of our moral principles, and 
shows us what is right and what is wrong ; what 
leads to the truest enjoyment of life, and secures 
from it's greatest evils. This will enable us to strip 
vice of all it's gay and gaudy colours, to expose it's ug- 
ly form and dire effects, and, at the same time, to 
show the amiableness and advantage of virtue. This 
science, important to all, is peculiarly so to us ; for 
it is the handmaid of divinity. 



J4 LECTURE III. 

In sum, the knowledge of all these branches of 
education, with whatever else may be necessary to 
constitute the character of a man of letters, we ought 
to be possessed of to a considerable extent. They 
are the avenue which leads to the sanctuary, and no 
person ought to go in, or be permitted to go in, by 
any other path. 

But these acquisitions, my brethren, though use- 
ful and necessary, will bring you only to the outer 
court of the temple. A thorough acquaintance with 
the sacred scriptures alone can entitle you to tread 
the sacred ground within. It is only by the constant 
and careful study of these, that your minds can be 
properly furnished for the work of the ministry : that 
you can hope to be approved by God, or serviceable 
to the souls of men. On these it becomes you there- 
fore to meditate and give yourselves up to them whol- 
ly, as the great mean of making the man of God 
perfect, and thoroughly furnished for his work. 

Give attendance to reading, was the advice of St. 
Paul to Timothy ; and we have need to take it to 
ourselves. For a steward who has occasion constant- 
ly to dispense his stock, must be no less constantly 
adding to his store. Without a miracle, which the in - 
dolent has no ground to expect, the stock of know- 
ledge, when never replenished, must soon be exhaust- 
ed. It is only by diligence on our part, that we may 
hope to see our endeavours blessed by God, and 
crowned with any share of success. It was after 
Peter had toiled all the night that Christ commanded 
his blessing, and gave the miraculous draught of fishes 
in the morning. 

We have mentioned the necessity of an early ap- 
plication to study, if we would attain to eminence or 
usefulness in our calling. Indeed, without a strong 
passion for study in early life, there is little to be ex- 
pected from riper years; for indolence in youth is 
sure to be succeeded by ignorance and contempt in 



LECTURE 111. 15 

age. But we are never to satisfy ourselves with hav- 
ing studied in youth, or with that degree of know- 
ledge which first procured us admittance to the mi- 
nistry. Neither the previous preparation of a few 
years, nor the occasional subsequent fits of it, will 
by any means serve our purpose. The calls of duty, 
and a regard to character, require of us to advance 
in knowledge as well as in holiness, and never to re- 
mit our application to study. If we have set out 
with moderate attainments, as is generally the case, 
we shall, without this continued application, become 
soon despised and useless. And if we have set out 
with a greater stock, we must aim at a greater de- 
gree of improvement, in order to be of greater service 
to the church of God, and to the souls of men. We 
must neither waste our time in indolence, nor spend 
too much of it in any pursuit that is foreign to our 
calling. Indolence would soon benumb the powers 
of the mind, and other pursuits would endanger 
it's immersion in worldly trifles, both which would 
be equally criminal. Yet one or other of these is 
too often the fate of such as are not intent on their 
proper business, and who consider not the pursuit of 
what is foreign to it as their reproach, and not their 
praise. 

The study of the scriptures, especially, and of 
whatever may be connected with them, as church- 
history, systems of divinity, controversies, commen- 
taries, and sermons, is our proper business, and de 
serves our first regard. It is from these we are to 
derive evidences of our faith, which will enable us to 
answer those who ask an account of it ; to confute 
the errors of Jews, Infidels, and such as depart from 
the faith ; and, in a word, to gainsay all it's adver- 
saries. It is true we are not to seek for occasions of 
disputing about either the evidences or doctrines of 
our religion ; but as we are liable to be attacked on 
both, it must be a verv unhappy case if we cannot 



16 LECTURE Iir. 

both defend and conquer. As the light subdues 
the darkness, so should our superior knowledge of 
the truth scatter every cloud of ignorance and er- 
ror. 

Yet the study of no controversy, however needful, 
should divert our chief attention from what is of still 
higher moment, the thorough knowledge of practical 
religion. For this is the foundation of being good 
ourselves, and of doing good to others. It is this 
knowledge that will effectually teach us, that the 
great business of this transitory life is to prepare for 
another ; and this preparation consists in the love of 
God and man, and in the practice of holiness and vir- 
tue. It is this that will teach us, that the means of 
attaining to those dispositions are a deep conviction 
of their absolute and eternal necessity, a deep con- 
viction of our guilt and wickedness, a diligent and 
fervent application to God (through faith in a cruci- 
fied Christ) for pardon and for grace ; a constant use 
of the ordinances by which these are to be conveyed, 
and a watchful care over our heart and life. This, 
this alone is that saving knowledge on which de- 
pend our own souls and those under our ministry : 
and we ought never to slacken our diligence in pur- 
suit of it, but to consider every moment as lost, 
which is not devoted, either directly or indirectly, to 
the improvement of our own souls, or to the advan-' 
tage of our people. 

But is it necessary, my brethren, to urge a minis- 
ter of the gospel to the pursuit of this knowledge ; to 
study the scriptures in which this knowledge is to be 
had, and to make himself thoroughly acquainted 
with the word of God ? Cannot a sense of our duty 
attract us ? Cannot the pleasure of such a study al- 
lure us ? Even the idolatrous priests of the heathen 
nations, whose religion was only a chaos of fables, de- 
voted themselves entirely to the study of these ; liv- 
ing retired in their temples, and secluded from the 



LECTURE III. 17 

world. Religion was their business, and therefore 
religion was their study ; — religion was their plea- 
sure. And shall we, my brethren, who are set apart 
for the study and service of a religion as far above 
theirs as heaven is above earth, shall we who are 
initiated into the mysteries of that glorious and com- 
fortable religion, which our gracious Redeemer 
brought down from the bosom of the God of love ; 
shall we, I say, find no delight in learning and study- 
ing the sublime and important truths which it con- 
tains ? Where was there ever so full and just an 
account of human nature, and of our truest interests 
in this and in another world ? Where was there 
ever so clear an evidence of the certainty, or so lively 
and rational a description of the nature of a life to 
come ? Where can we meet with any truths of so 
wonderful a nature and vast moment, as the incar- 
nation, passion, resurrection, and ascension of our 
Lord ; the effusion of the Holy Spirit, and it's miracu- 
lous and sanctifying operations ? Here we read of 
the nature and office of angels, the apostacy, misery, 
and stratagems of devils, the fall and recovery of 
man, the various revolutions of religion, and 4.he 
different and final fate of mankind. Here we have 
the most perfect system of morals, with the most 
powerful arguments and aids to engage us to the 
practice of them ; and all this exemplified to us in 
the perfect model of the life of the holy Jesus. And 
shall not all these wonderful matters, into which even 
angels desire to look, engage our hearts, occupy our 
time, and challenge our attention ? Are we permit 
ted to drink of that pitre river of the water of life, 
clear as cry sled, which proceeds out of the throne of 
God and of the Lamb, and shall our souls have no 
relish for such heavenly entertainment ? Shall we 
not ardently desire to satiate our minds with those 
delicious draughts of which even angels wish to par- 
take ? Js it possible that anv of us can be so dc- 

D 



18 LECTURE III. 

praved as to grudge the time which we must ne- 
cessarily devote to the study of the word of God ? Of 
is it possible that we can satisfy ourselves with a su- 
perficial knowledge of those doctrines, which it is our 
business to explain ? How then can we instruct the 
souls committed to our care ? How can the peo- 
ple be acquainted with those truths to which their 
teachers themselves are so much disposed to be stran- 
gers ? 

Let us, my brethren, look around us when we 
stand up in our churches, and for a moment reflect 
on our important situation. We are about to speak 
on matters of vast and eternal consequence, to a 
congregation of rational, accountable, and immortal 
creatures. The salvation or damnation of their souls 
as well as of our own, depends, in some measure, on 
the manner in which we are to act our part. Is it 
possible to conceive any situation more awful and in- 
teresting ? One should think that the most incon- 
siderate would be so impressed with the thoughts of 
it, as to make every possible preparation before he 
would enter into that place ; and acquit himself 
with all possible earnestness when actually engaged. 
He who speaks (as he who painted) for eternity,* 
ought to be at all possible pains to do it well. 

Demosthenes would have that person branded as 
the pest of society, and the enemy of the common- 
wealth, who durst propose any thing in public which 
he had not first considered well r and pondered in pri- 
vate. But how much more presumptuous is it for a 
man, in the great business of salvation, to appear be- 
fore the church, before angels, and before God him- 
self, and to speak of the dread mysteries of redemp- 
tion, without having secured before-hand every ad- 
vantage which knowledge, study, and preparation 

* " I paint for eternity," said Apelles, when asked why he 
took such pains upon his pictures. 



LECTURE III. 19 

could haVc possibly given them 4 Not being master 
of his subject, is he not afraid of treating it in a loose 
and careless manner, so as to do justice neither to the 
subject, nor to souls, but rather nauseate the audience, 
damp their devotions, and vilify the holy ordinance 
of preaching ? 

Think, O my soul, on the situation of that multi- 
tude of immortal beings, all come to hear from thee 
(some of them perhaps for the last time) how they 
may be saved. Think of the high trust which God 
hath put in thy hands y but which he may not pos - 
sibly allow thee to exercise beyond this one precious 
opportunity. Are, therefore, the doctrines which 
thou art about to deliver, suited to the exigencies of 
souls verging towards eternity ? Are they suited to 
the capacities and circumstances of those who are to 
hear them ? Have they a strong tendency to make 
them wiser and better, to enlighten and to reform, 
to sanctify and to save them ? And can your con- 
science say that this tendency is so strong as thou 
couldst have possibly made it, if thy diligence had 
been greater ? Have no pains been spared to make 
thyself master of thy subject, and to make it appear 
striking and important to thy hearers ? Is thy own 
heart impressed with such a sense of thy doctrines, 
as to make thy concern visible to others, and so in- 
terest their hearts also in thy cause ? If these ques- 
tions cannot be answered in the affirmative, the con- 
science of the preacher must reproach him, the soul 3 
of his hearers must accuse him, and a righteous God 
on that day on which he will call him to give an 

t Cogitet ille quantae molis est in ilia praedicare societate» 
in cujus medio Dominus ille est, cui sol et luna famulantur, 
cui adsunt ministri ejus millia millium et decies centena mil- 
Ha ! Quantae molis est regnum Christt erigere, et Satante, 
palatia dexnoliri. Nic. Honing, de Pastore. 



2(5 LECTURE III. 

account of his stewardship, will assuredly condemn 
liim.f 

And just is the condemnation of that servant who 
proves unfaithful in such an office. For we, my 
brethren, like our master, are set for the rise or 
fall of many in Israel ; so that none of us, if indo- 
lent or evil, can perish singly. Our guilt must be a- 
bove measure aggravated, as, in our ruin, that of 
thousands is involved. We are*/te light of the world , 
and if the beams which we shed be dim, how can the 
poor wanderer find his way ? If, as is sometimes the 
case, he may not read, or if he cannot understand, in 
the devious paths of error, the unhappy wretch must 
perish ; for there is no ray to direct his fainting eyes, 
there is no light in the lamp that should guide him. 
We are the eyes of the church, and if the eye be 
darkness, the whole body must be so too. We are the 
teachers of others, and should therefore be taught 
ourselves. Without this, the blind lead the blind, 
and both must fall into the pit. 

It is true, all cannot have great talents, extraordi- 
nary gifts, and an uncommon genius. But all ought 
to know Jesus Christ, and to be intimately acquaint* 
ed with his law and with his gospel. To attain to this 
and whatever else may be more immediately con- 
nected with our office, no study, no pains, no appli- 
cation should be spared ; nor should any moment be 
lost in supine sloth, unnecessary sleep, or vain recrea- 
tions. If the merchant shall compass sea and land in 
pursuit of riches, and the philosopher in pursuit of 
science ; if the husbandman shall toil all day, and the 
mechanic apply to his work from morning to night, 
that by the fruit of their labour they may live, shall 
not we be equally diligent to find the pearl of great 
price, and to attain to the knowledge of him, whom 
to know is life eternal ? Shall we not be ashamed 

t See Dr. Leeohman's Syq. Serm. 



LECTURE III* 21 

that the men of the world should be late and early, 
and all the day long, at their respective callings, if we 
are not equally intent on some part or other of ours ? 
Devoted and set apart, as we solemnly are, to the 
sacred work of the ministry, shall we not, with all 
our heart and soul, attend to it as our only care ; 
since we cannot otherwise expect to save our own 
souls or those of others? Shall we not seek for 
knowledge as for hidden treasure, and be equally 
careful to dispense it ? If not, how inexcusable must 
we appear at the great day of the Lord ? for this 
knowledge is not hidden from us, neither is it far off. 
It is not in heaven, that we should say, who shall go 
up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may 
hear and do it ? Neither is it beyond the sea, that 
we should say, who shall go over the sea for us, and 
bring it unto us, that we may hear and do it ? But 
it is very nigh unto us, it is in our hands, and should 
be in our mouths, and in our heart. — To make any 
proficiency in this knowledge, however, it is neces- 
sary that our study shall be accompanied with piety, 
and with prayer. X 

X Baron Bielfeld (Elements of Universal Erudition, Vol. 
I,) has given the following analysis of the knowledge requi- 
site for a minister, in regard to preparation, theory, and 
practice, 

I. Preparation. 
1. Languages. — His native tongue, in which he is to exercise 
his ministry, and in which he ought to be most perfect. 
The Latin language, which is the language of the learnecP 

world in general. 
The Greek language, in order to understand the New Tes- 
tament. 
The Hebrew language, with the Talmudic and Rabbinical 

idioms. 
The Arabic language. 
The Syriac language. 



S5» LECTURE III. 

The French, for the excellent books written in it, as well 
as in English. 

2. Natural philosophy. 
Logic. 

Metaphysics. 
Moral philosophy. 

3. Rhetoric and eloquence, or the art of speaking and writing 

with correctness, elegance, and persuasion. 

4. Universal history, with chronology and geography, 

5. The study of the Jewish antiquities. 

II. Theory, 

1. Systematic theology. 

2. Exegetic, hermeneutic, and critical theology, or the art 

of understanding and explaining any passage or part of 
scripture, or whatever may relate to it. 

3. Polemic theology. 

4. Natural theology, 

6. Moral theology. 

6 , History of the church, under the Old and New Testaments . 

III. Practice. 

I. Pastoral th«ology, viz : homiletic, catechetic, and casuis- 
tic. 

%. Consistorial theology, or the knowledge of the canon law, 
forms of church courts, &c. Ecclesiastical government 
and jurisprudence, civil laws respecting the church, &c. 

3. The prudential exercise of the ministerial functions. 



LECTURE IV. 

That a Minister of the Gospel should be a man of 

Piety. 

PIETY, which consists in the habitual exercise of 
the devout affections towards God, is the same to the 
soul that the breath is to the body. It is, if not it's 
life, at least the symptom or sign of it. It is the 
foundation of that mysterious union, or communion,, 
which it enjoys with the father of spirits, and which 
is altogether essential to the happiness of man, and 
to the character of a minister. 

A minister without piety is a monster in the church 
of God. His ugliness deters those who would ap- 
proach the holy place so much, that all the exhor- 
tations which he gives them to enter thither are to no 
purpose. He resembles those horrid shapes which 
the poets feign to have stood at the entrance of Ely- 
sium. It required uncommon resolution in any per- 
son to pass by them, and force his way into the abodes 
of the blessed. 

Should a minister have even the appearance of pie- 
ty, and the form of Godliness, without which he 
would be altogether shocking, yet if he has not also 
it's power, he will in vain attempt to make others 
what he himself is not. From shame and the indis- 
pensable calls of duty, indeed, he must do something ; 
but it will be as seldom and as superficially as may 
be. Or, say he should put on the appearance of 
earnestness, yet will he be considered as only acting 
a part, which will appear equally unnatural and dis- 
gustful. His own heart will be apt to misgive him ; 
his hearers, who know his real character, will despise 
him ; and God, who knows more than his own 
heart or his hearers, will detest and condemn liircu 



24 LECTURE HI. 

In the sight of God and man, hypocrisy is as odious 
as profaneness. 

Yes, my brethren, the foundation of every thing 
amiable in our character is true and unaffected piety. 
And this we should constantly cultivate by daily me- 
ditation, fervent prayer, diligence in working out our 
own salvation, and ardent zeal for the everlasting 
welfare of our people. This only will give weight to 
the truths which we utter ; truths which will almost 
always affect our hearers, in proportion to the opinion 
which they entertain of our piety. 

Let us then lay it down as a first principle, that, in 
order to teach successfully to others the power and 
life of godliness, we must feel it's vital influence up- 
on our own souls. For, inspire them with a taste 
for heavenly things we cannot, if we have not a re- 
lish for those things ourselves. I will not say but 
God may sometimes, by way of miracle, bring a man 
to life by the bones of a dead prophet, and may some- 
times honour his own word so far as to make it ef- 
fectual for salvation, even when it falls from theun* 
hallowed lips of a wicked minister. I know that 
when Noah arose from his wine and prophecied, the 
event corresponded with his prediction ; and that the 
prescription of Elisha, though conveyed by Gehazi, 
cured the Syrian general. This, however, is not the 
ordinary way of God ; it is rather his strange 'work ; 
for it is extremely seldom that the labours of an un- 
godly minister are owned by him, or attended with 
any success. On the contrary, they bring discredit 
upon religion, and throw snares in the way of the 
souls of men. The deepest wounds which religion 
receives, are those which are given her in the house 
of her friends. — If Hophni and Phineas be priests, 
ihe sacrifice of the Lord will soon be abhorred, and 
his temples will soon be deserted. 



LECTURE IV. 23 

Stich is the baneful influence which the impiety of 
ministers has upon all around them. And if we con- 
sider the consequence with respect to those unhappy 
beings themselves^ we are presented with a still more 
melancholy prospect. After having preached the 
gospel to others, they themselves must be cast away. 
To plead their having preached, and prophesied, and 
cast out devils in the name of Jesus, will be of no 
avail, while they want piety, In vain do they 
hope that God will dispense with the homage of the 
heart, and with the holiness of life which he requires 
in his servants, and either remit or mitigate their pui> 
ishment, on account of their having preached to 
others a gospel to which they would not conform 
themselves. If the deceitfulness of the human heart 
could indeed flatter itself with the hope of any miti* 
gation of punishment amid such aggravated guilt 
one should think it would be only such as that of the 
wretch mentioned in one of the fables of Zoroaster, 
who was wholly immersed in the fiery lake, except 
one of his heels, which had the privilege of rising 
above the surface, on account of his having once 
turned upon it to relieve a lamb entangled in a thick- 
et. — To the minister, whose lips only did their duty, 
who was a good preacher, but not a pious man, the 
application of the apologue is easy. — But apologues 
apart, without holiness no man shall see the Lord. 

I therefore repeat it, my brethren, we should nc4 
only have piety, but a very high degree of it. It is 
by no means enough that we should have as much 
of it as ordinary christians. God and men, with 
good reason, require more from us than from the 
rest of the world. Our time and talents are conse- 
crated to religion, insomuch, that to apply them to 
any other purpose, not somehow subservient to this 
end, is sacrilege. We are, or at least ought to be, 
more disengaged from the business, cares, and in- 
cumbrances of this world, than other men are. We 

E 



£6 LECTURE IV. 

are neither labourers nor tradesmen, we are neithe* 
merchants nor soldiers. We should therefore consi- 
der ourselves as holding an office somewhat akin to 
that of the holy angels, who are sent into the world 
as ministering spirits, for the general good of man- 
kind. And having nothing else to mind but this sole, 
this glorious work, we should pursue it with the full 
bent and purpose of our soul, giving special heed 
that while we assist others to become heirs of salva- 
tion, we may be all heavenly and holy ourselves. 
For this end we cannot possibly use too much dili- 
gence, we cannot possibly aim too high : for that 
degree of piety which will qualify others for heaven 
will by no means serve for us. 

Coivin, now with God and his angels,* had a vi- 
sion to this purpose, on the day of his consecration 
to the ministry. Awful thoughts filled his soul. A 
heavenly light shone in his cell. He turned his eye 
to the heavens, and, lo, they were illumined; he 
looked to the earth, and, lo, it w T as on fire. The 
judgment-throne was set, and the inhabitants of hea- 
ven and earth assembled, Michael stood forth be- 
fore the Judge, and held in his hand that mighty 
balance, in which souls and their actions are weigh- 
ed, t When ordinary mortals were put in the scales, 
the standard by which they were tried was less and. 
lighter; nor did they seem to be too scrupulously 
weighed, if the beam stood only near a poise. Nay, 
the breath of mercy made it sometimes incline in 
their favour, when all the pleas that made for them 
could not decidedly cast it. But when ministers 
came to be weighed, the standard was ten times aug~ 

* " O Coivin, now with archangels \" So begins an ad- 
dress to him by St. Ciarair. 

f See Pref. to White's Sermons. This image is sculptur 
id in the Cathedral of Iona. 



LECTURE IV, 27 

merited, for those of whom least was required ; and, 
in general, that by which they were tried was the 
weight of the angel Ithiel, prince of the seventh or 
lowest order of the hierarchy of heaven. For God 
had ordained, that in the progressive scale there 
should be no blank, and that the highest order of 
men should reach the lowest order of superior beings. 
Coivin reflected on the dread office to which he was 
set apart ; he perceived the awful sanctity and care 
which it required. His heart swelled ; the tears burst 
from his eyes ; he wiped them with his hand, and 
the vision vanished. The impression, however, re- 
mained, and Coivin lived on earth, innocent and ac- 
tive, as an angel of heaven. 

Thus, my brethren, our salvation is much more 
difficult than that of any person under our charge ; 
for to whomsoever much is given, of them the more 
will be required. Our daily duty calls on us to con- 
verse more with the scriptures, and to meditate more 
on the maxims of piety. The precepts which re- 
quire, and the promises w T hich encourage godliness, 
are better known by us than by others. Our temp- 
tations to irreligion are much fewer than those of 
other men, who are immersed in the affairs of the 
world, and exposed more frequently to the danger of 
falling into the company of sinners. Our particular 
calling as ministers, and our general calling as chris- 
tians, lead us to pursue one and the same road ; which 
is not often the case with other men. In a word,, 
while one part of mankind is hurried about by the 
giddy whirlpool of fashion and pleasure^ and the 
other toiling and slaving for the supply of real or ima- 
ginary wants ; we, seated high on a place of safety, 
where, free from those temptations, we enjoy peace 
and competence, may attend to the great concerns of 
our calling, without any distraction or anxious care. 
Possessed, therefore, of these superior advantages, as 
well as of precious and peculiar promises, we ought 



2S LECTURE IV. 

to feel more of the power of godliness, and to excel 
all the world in piety* Thus only shall we secure 
happiness to ourselves, and successfully recommend 
t to others. 

How then are those pious dispositions, the source 
of so much happiness, to be cherished or acquired ? 
1 answer, — He that would be pious, must have a due 
regard to every ordinance of religion. He must be 
much in prayer ; stated, occasional, and above all, 
ejaculatory and mental. He must be much in retire 
ment and meditation, communing with his own heart 
and with his God. He must converse daily with the 
sacred scriptures,, and with books of piety ; and, as 
often as he can, with pious men. Above all, he must 
aim at being holy, exemplary, and useful in his life ; 
and, as acting under the eye of God, make conscience 
of discharging every part of his duty. These are the 
acts by which pious habits are, through the grace of 
God, acquired ; and the more any one abounds in 
them, the sooner will he arrive at perfection, both of 
holiness and happiness, for they are one and the same. 

It therefore becomes us, my brethren, who are to 
teach these things to others, to examine often what 
progress we ourselves make in the study of piety, or 
whether we have as yet attained to any high degree 
of holiness. For if piety has not taken entire posses- 
sion of our own souls, we are by no means qualified 
to recommend it strongly to our people. Are, then, 
our meditations of God frequent and sweet, and the 
aspirations of our souls, like incense, perpetually 
mounting before him ? Is it our chiefest joy to think 
on his name and on his attributes, on his works and 
on his word ? Do we resign our souls entirely to his 
pleasure, acquiesce in his will, obey his precepts, and 
trust in his promises ? Is his favour our life, his pro- 
vidence our protection, his spirit our guide, his word 
our counsellor, and his kingdom the inheritance for 
which we arc earnestly looking, and daily preparing ? 



LECTURE IV. 29 

Amidst all the changes of a transient life, can we sav 
to the sea of passions, fears, and cares within, Be still ; 
and can we lean on God as on a rock, immovable 
and calm amid the surrounding storm ? Nay, can we 
not only rest on him when we contemplate the great- 
ness of his power, but rejoice and triumph in him 
when we view the glory of his grace, as manifested 
in Christ Jesus ? Do we realize to ourselves his pre- 
sence, pant after higher and more frequent commu- 
nion with him in this world, and ardently and affec- 
tionately long to see him, and to be forever with him 
in the other ? 

O God, my light and my life, my sun and my 
shield ! I feel a joy surpassing the power of language 
to describe, when I consider myself as thy subject, 
thy servant, and thy son. I roll over myself, my 
soul, my all, on thy hands and on thy care. Bid me 
do or suffer what thou pleasest ; do with me what 
seemeth to thee good, I confide in thy favour, rest in 
thy love, trust in thy promises, and devote myself to 
thy service. Let others choose their portion in this 
world ; thou art my God, and I will bless and serve 
thee while I live, and look for thy salvation when I 
die, through Jesus Christ, my Saviour and my Re- 
deemer. 

Yes, my brethren, if pious dispositions are abun- 
dant and strong in our own souls, we shall naturally 
recommend them with fervour and force to others, 
and speak with boldness, as well as ease, when the 
truths which we utter are not conned words, but the 
genuine feelings of our hearts. Then, indeed, shall 
we possess true and persuasive eloquence, and bid 

fair to lead our people along with us to glory. 

Therefore, my brethren, whatever other men may 
do, let us be patterns of piety, and examples of holi- 
ness, to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made 
us overseers. — But of a minister's good example, 



30 LECTURE IV. 

without which piety cannot subsist, I shall have oc- 
casion to speak hereafter. In the mean time, let it be 
remembered, that he must be a man of knowledge 
and of study, a man of piety, and — of .prayer. 



LECTURE V. 

Tliat a Minister of the Gospel shonlcTbe a Man of 
Prayer. 

" BEGIN all thine actions with prayer/' said Py- 
thagoras, " that thou mayest be able to accomplish 
" them." Alas, my brethren, what can we, frail crea- 
tures ! do in our arduous work, if the Spirit, which 
is to be obtained by prayer, do not help us ? We can 
neither attain to the right knowledge of the truth as 
it is in Jesus, not can we recommend the gospel with 
success to others. It is only the same Spirit which 
dictated the oracles of God at first, that can make us 
understand them clearly. To him, therefore, should 
we apply for light and direction, by pouring forth 
our souls before him in frequent and fervent prayer. 

O Spirit of light and of love I shed thy sacred 
beams on this benighted soul, that it may clearly un- 
derstand thy holy oracles ! Say, Let there be light ; 
and there shall be light. Rise, Sun of righteousness ! 
rise with healing under thy wings, that I may clearly 
see the path of salvation, and be able with certainty 
and precision to point it out to others. Thou hast 
ordained thy word to be a light to my feet, and a 
lamp to my paths ; but if my eyes be not opened, 
how can I behold this beam, however bright it shin- 
eth ? The blind must lose his way in the midst of 
light, and grope at noon-day. O speak then the 
word Ephphatha, Bid these eyes be opened, and the 
day-spring from on high to visit me ! Then shall I 
behold the wondrous things of thy law, and be as a 
star in thy right hand to guide my people ! 

Prayer is the mounting up of the soul to God in 
the act of worship. It is that by which we, as it were, 
mter heaven^ join the worshipping hosts assembled 



32 LECTURE IV. 

there, cultivate acquaintance, and hold intercourse and 
communion with the Father of our souls, and draw 
down his choicest blessings. Prayer is the properest 
exercise in which a dependant, ignorant, weak and 
guilty creature, can be engaged ; as it puts him in a 
condition to see what he is, and to receive what he 
needs. Prayer is not only the way to the fulfilment 
of promise, but is in itself the properest mean of pro- 
ducing and promoting in us all those noble and ami- 
able dispositions of mind, which can make us happy 
and useful in this world, and meet for another* It 
raises the soul above every mean and sordid pursuit, 
weans it from earth, and gives it that taste and relish 
for holiness, which is requisite even for the enjoy- 
ment of heaven. It is the nourisher of piety, and the 
preparative and earnest of glory. For, as the mind 
will always derive a tincture and colouring from the 
cast of that company which a man frequents, so will 
the soul that is much in company with God, become 
in some measure like him. It will naturally copy 
those perfections which it admires and adores ; and, 
according to the eternal laws of heaven, when it be- 
holds, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, will be 
changed into the same image, from glory to glory. 

Thus necessary and useful is prayer to every chris- 
tian ; but more especially to every minister. Prayer 
is the life and soul of the sacred function.* Without 
it, we can expect no success in our ministry. With- 
out it, our best instructions are barren, and our most 
painful labours idle. Before we can strike terror in* 

* Incredibile dictu quantum lucis, quantum vigoris, quan- 
tum roboris atque alacritatis hinc accidat Ecclesiastae, immo 
cunctis hominibus ad quodvis unquam negotium arduum sus- 
cipiendum et peragendum. Ei-asm. — Bene orasse est bene 

studuisse. Luth Tria faciunt theologum, oratio, tentatio, 

rneditatio. Id " OraetJabora ; nil amplius docuit Oran." 



LECTURE V. 33 

to those who break the law, we must first, like Mo- 
ses, spend much time with God in retirement. Prayer 
often gains success to little talents, while the greatest, 
without it, are useless or pernicious. A minister who 
is not a man of piety and prayer, whatever his other 
talents may be, cannot be called a servant of God, 
but rather " a servant of Satan, chosen by him for 
* the same reason that he chose the serpent of old ; 
a because he was more subtile than any beast of the 
" field which the Lord God had made." 

Every true Christian ought to be a man of prayer. 
All his views, all his affections, all his desires, hopes,, 
and joys, ought to be constantly mounting on the 
wings of devotion, and flying before him into heaven. 
Every rub which he meets with in this thorny wilder- 
ness, every outward combat, every inward struggle^ 
ought to make his groans and prayers rise incessant- 
ly, as memorials before that throne from which he 
expects aid and deliverance. Without this he is on- 
ly a nominal, not a real christian. And if a christian^, 
not addicted to prayer, is a man without any interest 
in Christ, without hope, and without God in the 
world ; what a monster, O God, must that minister 
of religion be, that dispenser of the ordinances of the 
gospel, that intercessor between God and his people,, 
that reconciler of man to his Maker, if he himself is 
not a man of prayer ! In this should consist much 
of his aptitude for his wnrk, and much of his ability 
to perform it. It should be his chief ornament, and 
his chief mean of obtaining aid. The plumage of the 
eagle serves it equally for ornament and flight. Strip 
him of that, and you leave him helpless and deform- 
ed, as a reptile of the dust. What his plumage is to 
the eagle, prayer is to the minister. Take from him 
this, and you fix him to the ground, without any 
thing to adorn or support him. 

As we, my brethren, are ministers of reconciliation 
between God and man. prayer is one of our principal 



,'i kEcxute v. 

duties. God often grants the grace intended for the 
people to the prayers of the minister* ; of that minis- 
ter, who, like one of the angels who ascended and 
descended on Jacob's ladder, not only pleads the 
cause of God with the people, but the cause of the 
people with God. It is our business to lay before him 
constantly all the needs of those of whom we have 
the charge. It is our part to lament before him their 
sins ; those sins which our care and zeal cannot pre- 
vent nor remove, It is our part to solicit for them 
the riches of his mercy, and to deprecate hisdeserved 
indignation. It is ours to pray that the sinner may 
be converted, that the saint may be confirmed, that 
the weak may be strengthened, the diffident encou- 
raged, and the presumptuous alarmed. The more 
numerous the wants and sins of our people are, the 
more frequent and fervent should our prayers be on 
their behalf. Not only their general state, but their 
particular cases, ought to be spread by us before the 
throne, and to be recommended, pleaded, and ear- 
nestly urged, before the Father of mercies. 

" The law," says Philo,t " required that the high- 
" priest should be raised above human nature, to a 
" proximity with God ; that being placed, as it were, 
" in a middle station betwixt God and man, he might 
u supplicate God in behalf of man, and convey to 
u men the grace that is bestowed by God." — And 
were we, my brethren, to consider ourselves in this 
light, and to act accordingly, it is impossible to con- 
ceive the mutual love, and endearing affection which 
it would create between us and our people. It is im- 
possible to conceive the joy, the vigour, and the 
strength, with which this confidence, in the aid of our 
intercession and prayers, would inspire them in their 
temporal, but especially in their religious pursuits. — . 

* See James y. 16. Gen. xx. 7. Job xlii. S, 
. fy De Monarchia, lib, %, 



LECTURE V. 35 

The patron and friend of the brethren of the Abbey 
of Ford was once overtaken at sea by a violent tem- 
pest, which arose a little before break of day, and 
threatened the vessel in which he sailed with imme- 
diate destruction. All, except himself, despaired, left 
off working, and resigned themselves to their fate. — 
* Do not, I beseech you, despond," said the pious 
man ; " take courage, and exert yourselves for one 
" hour longer, for by that time we shall have the be- 
66 nefit of the stated prayers of the monks of Ford ; 
" by whom, I am sure, my case will not be forgot- 
" ten.*" — The crew resumed their courage and their 
oars, and about the time which the good man pro 
posed, the hearer of prayer calmed the storm, and 
gave deliverance. — The confidence of having a share 
in a good man's prayers, will naturally inspire, even 
the weak, with courage, and almost the profligate 
with piety. 

We should, therefore, my brethren, be the mouthy, 
and, in a qualified sense, the mediators between God 
and our people, A holy familiarity (if I may so 
speak) should subsist between God and us ; and if 
we do not cultivate this by prayer, we are not only 
lost ourselves, but we are chargeable with the loss of 
souls which our prayers might have healed. For a 
prayerless minister is not only useless, but highly in- 
jurious to his people; by standing in the place of a 
faithful pastor, whose prayers might have drawn 
down a thousand blessings on his poor flock. Yes, 
a prayerless minister is chargeable with all the crimes 
which the prayers of a faithful pastor might prevent 
and with all the evils which they might remove. 
Has any of thy flock strayed, or fallen, or perished ? 
How dost thou know but, if thy earnest prayers had 
been spread before the mercy seat, in his behalf, he 
had been recovered, supported, saved ? Is any fair 

* Vid. Grose's Ruins, &c 



3b LECTURE V„ 

blossom in thy portion of the vineyard blasted ? Has 
any hopeful youth turned his back on the kingdom 
of heaven, or any unwary disciple denied the faith 
which he once professed, or fallen from the grace to 
which he once seemed to have attained ? How dost 
thou know but he might have stood and persevered, 
if thou hadst prayed that his faith might not fail 
him ; after the example of thy master, and according 
to the practice of his holy apostle Paul.* 

God, my brethren, hath commanded us to pray, 
and promised that our prayers should be answered. 
Consequently we ought to tremble, lest, by neglect- 
ing this duty, the crimes of our people should be- 
come our own; and lest the ruin of their souls should 
belaid to our charge. Yes, my brethren, the consi- 
deration is as true as it is awful : Before the tribunal 
of Christ, a minister may be chargeable with the 
corruption of his fellow citizens, with the irregular- 
ity of his friends and neighbours, and with the evils 
which prevail in that part of the church which is 
entrusted to his care. In that terrible day of venge- 
ance, a thousand unhappy souls may approach 
him, (may approach, perhaps, you and me) and say : 
u Ah, cruel, careless man ! If thy piety and prayers 
6 had aided our desires, feeble and faint as they often 
" were, we had repented in dust and ashes, and had 
:i stood, on this day, on the other hand of Jesus, 
u and on the other side of this gulf, which will now 
u for ever divide us from the abodes of the holy and 
" happy. Farewell, mansions of bliss, farewell, re- 
" gions of glory ! Cruel man, who hast helped to shut 
" us out ; behold what was once our land of pro- 
" mise : behold it afar off ; and then lie down with 
" us, in everlasting torments!" 

This, my brethren, is not the reverie of a wander 
ing fancy, nor the suggestion of superstitious fear. 

* I. Tbess.i. 2. 



LECTURE V. 37 

!Sfo ; bat a matter which gives us the most serious 
cause of being alarmed. For, if the unfruitful fig^ 
tree is sentenced to the fire, and the servant who 
hid his talent condemned, how can the minister who 
neglected prayer escape ? Will not the souls, whom 
his prayers might have helped to save, be swift wit- 
nesses against him, however inoffensive his conduct 
may have been in other respects ? If Moses had suf- 
fered his hands to fall, and ceased to pray on the 
mountain, would not the blood of the fallen Israelites 
cry against him ; and when they were able to con- 
quer Amalek, when aided by his prayers, might he 
not, if those prayers had been cruelly withheld, be 
considered as the murderer of his brethren ? 

It was a custom of old, among many heathen na- 
tions, and I believe still prevails in some parts of the 
world, to make their kings, who were also their 
priests, answer for it with their life, if their people 
were visited with unhappy times, or unfruitful sea- 
sons. They supposed, that if they had been men of 
piety and prayer, and as intimate with the gods as 
they ought, those calamities might have been entirely 
prevented, or soon removed. — The custom may ap- 
pear cruel, and the opinion on which it was founded 
unreasonable and ridiculous. It was extremely so, 
indeed, in nations, whose gods themselves had not in 
their hands the issue of events, nor any power over 
the seasons. But with respect to ministers of the 
gospel, the case is so very different, that, though the 
practice may not be defensible, under any admini- 
stration of religion whatever, the opinion must be 
owned to be at least much less absurd ; and shows 
how natural it is for men to look up to their priests, 
as their intercessors with heaven. Let us not then 
disobey the command of God, nor disappoint the 
faith of men, by not stirring up this gift of God that 
is in us, and trying the utmost that we can effect by 
our prayers ; for that may be greatly beyond our 



3$ LECTURE V. 

conception. If the prayers of a minister of the law 
had the power to open or to shut the heavens, to 
procure drought or rain, scarce or plentiful seasons, 
why may we not suppose the prayers of a minister 
of the gospel might be as prevalent with God? If 
the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more 
doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 

I would ask of those who make light of this ob- 
servation, whether they can take upon them to set 
any limits to the efficacy of prayer, and say, " Thus 
" far the prayers of a faithful minister shall prevail, 
*' and no farther. This is the ne plus ultra that his 
" requests can obtain from God." If any man shall 
take upon him to say so, I will not scruple to pro- 
nounce his presumption as strong as was the faith of 
that wrestler with God in prayer, who, in the immi- 
nent danger of his country, was heard to plead with 
strong cries and tears, " Lord, give the safety of my 
u country at this time to my prayers. I will cling to 
" the foot of the throne till I obtain it." — Yes, my 
brethren, the Almighty is so far from being offended 
at such bold requests, that he is represented in scrip 
ture as looking earnestly out for good men to make 
them, and greatly disappointed when men of such a 
spirit are not found : / sought for a man among 
them (says God of his degenerate people of old) that 
should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before 
me, for the land, that I should not destroy it, but found 
none* — When God is so merciful, who will dare say 
how far the fervent prayer of a righteous man w r ill 
prevail. 

Nothing, my brethren is so difficult or impossible 
with man, but by prayer it may be obtained. By 
prayer, Abraham, when he and Sarah were old, ob- 
tained the son of promise. By prayer, the children 
4>f Israel were delivered from Egyptian bondage and 

* Ezek. xxii. 30. 



LECTURE V, 3SJ 

oppression. By prayer, Moses pacified the wrath 
of God, so that he destroyed not his people, and by 
prayer and lifting up of hands, he routed the hosts of 
Amalek. By prayer, Joshua stopped the course of 
the sun. By prayer, Sampson brought down the 
house of Dagon upon the Philistines. By prayer, 
Solomon obtained incomparable wisdom: and by 
the same means, Hezekiah, at the point of death, 
had his life lengthened. By prayer, Daniel stopped 
the mouths of the lions, and the three children walk 
ed unhurt in the midst of the fiery furnace seven times 
heated. By prayer, Jonah was brought safe from 
his watery grave ; and, by prayer, angels came down 
to enlarge St. Peter. What is there for which pray- 
er will not avail ? It cures diseases, dispossesseth de- 
vils, sanctifies the creatures to us, and unlocks the 
gates of heaven. Prayer hath power with God ? 
looseus the bands of sin, purifies the soul, reforms the 
heart, draws down the aids of divine grace, and pro- 
cures the fellowship of the holy spirit. It is season- 
able for all times, fit for all places, necessary for all 
persons ; and, without it, no business, however ho- 
nest or lawful, can be supposed to prosper. 

In a word, so extensive are the promises, and so 
large the grants, which are made in scripture to the 
prayers of the faithful, that there is scarce any tempo- 
ral or spiritual mercy, which we should reckon it 
impossible to obtain, if we ahmys pray and not faint, 
And if we do not, every public or private calamity 
within our knowledge, whether of a temporal or spi- 
ritual nature, may reproach us with being the cause, 
if not of their coming, at least of their continuance. 
For every evil which our prayers might prevent or 
remove, may be laid to our charge, if wc are not men 
of prayer and of piety. 

Seeing, then my brethren, we are told, that what- 
ever we shall ask in Christ's name we shall receive it, 
vl is it possible, that there should be any amongst us 



40 LECTURE V. 

u who can either live without prayer, or who can. 
u pray but seldom, or who can pray without fervour 
" and zeal ? Or can he confine all his prayers to a 
" cold, careless, and hasty rehearsal of some conned 
" form of speech, which may seldom suit the case or 
4i circumstances of himself or of his people ? Can he 
" possibly be so indifferent, when he beholds their 
" many miseries and calamities, and sees the great- 
'* est part of them living in sin, and perishing before 
'• his eyes under a load of guilt and impenitence ? — 
'* When the high priest, Aaron, saw part of his peo- 
*' pie smitten by the hand of God, and expiring be- 
" fore him, he ran between the dead and the living, 
*' he lifted his hands to heaven, he wept for the mi- 
" sery of such as fell before his eyes, he prayed, he 
" cried, he wrestled ; and his prayer was heard, the 
* c plague was stopped, and the sword of God's an- 
m ger was sheathed." 

' * This, my brethren, is the image of a good mi- 
* s nister. Among his people he walks, I may say, 
* 6 between the dead and the living. He sees by his 
*' side some of his flock dead, and others ready to 
'* expire, having only some faint or flattering signs of 
*' life. He sees the invisible sword of God's wrath 
'* hanging over these people. He sees reigning 
* c crimes ; he sees hastening death. All this he be- 
f ' holds ; it is a spectacle which he has every day 
" before his eyes, and which every day makes those 
'■' eyes weep. — If he is one who is not affected with 
€e this, he is not a pastor ; he is a mercenary wretch, 
" who sees in cold blood the destruction of his flock. 
" He is either a minister fallen from the grace of the 
'■' gospel, or, to speak more properly, one who has 
" never received it. But, if this lamentable sight 
" affects him, ah ! what must the first motions 'of 
«< his grief and zeal be ! He will address himself to 
" that God who woundeth and who healeth, who 
« c killeth and who maketh alive: He will offer him 



L'ECTUHE V, 41 

*•' prayers, and secret tears of grief and love, for his 
u people : He will remind an angry God of his an- 
" cient promises, and of his gracious covenant ; he 
; c will move his paternal heart, by his sighs, and 
'" tears, and prayers ; he will almost offer himself to 
4i be accursed for his brethren*." 

Yes, my brethren, a pastor who does not pray, 
who does not love prayer, who does not live a life 
of prayer, does not belong to that church which 
prays without ceasing. He is not united to the spirit 
of prayer and love. He is a stranger, who hath 
usurped the pastor's office, and to whom the salva- 
tion of his flock gives little concern. — Do we detest 
the character, and wish to avoid the fate of such a 
minister? Then let us be frequent and fervent in 
prayer. This will render our functions more useful, 
our labours much sweeter, and the wants and mise 
sies of our people much fewer. Our prayers will be 
a source of usefulness to others ; of support and con- 
solation to ourselves. Whereas, if you take from a 
minister the spirit of prayer, you deprive him of his 
life and soul, and leave him nothing but a corrupt 
carcase, which will infect all who come near it. His 
service is nothing but cold inanimate words, and his 
office a burden ; a task, painful to himself, and un- 
profitable to others. Even those public prayers which 
he is obliged to recite, so full of consolation to a good 
minister, so capable of supporting him under all the 
toils of his function, and ,of kindling in his soul sen- 
timents of affiance and love to God, — those prayer.s 
are, to the in devout minister, disagreeable and irk- 
some. Unhappy the people who have such a minis 
fcer ! If they are labouring under any calamity, will 
he appease the wrath of God, as Moses ; or stand in 
the breach between the living and the dead, as Aa- 
ron ? ^Vlas ! so far is he from being the means of re^ 

* Massfton. 



&£ LECTUJIE V. 

moving these calamities, that he was, perhaps, a 
principal cause of their coming on". Mine anger was 
kindled against the shepherds, says God, and I pun- 
ished the goats*. Can he console them in trouble ? 
alas he is utterly unacquainted with those consola- 
tions which are to be had only at the foot of the 
throne of grace, where he is very much a stranger. 

" When tyrants and persecutors of the church 
* were born, it was believed by the people that signs 
u and omens, portending great disasters, appeared in 
" the heavens. The observation was owing, perhaps, 
f< to the credulity and superstition of mankind. But 
" if we could indeed see the face of heaven, and 
" discern the greatest calamities which come upon the 
" church we should undoubtedly see the most dreadful 
Xi of them preceded by the birth of wicked ministers. — 
" The worst of tyrants, while they made the earth red 
" with the blood of martyrs, drew greater honour 
il and confirmation on the gospel, and increased the 
41 number of the faithful. But wicked ministers 
a heap calamities on the church, without contributing 
4i any thing to it's welfare. And when I speak of 
u wicked ministers, I do not suppose them defiled 
" with any gross crimes ; I do not suppose them 
" worldly, covetous, dissipated, or given to any of 
4C the levities, not to say enormities, of the age. I 
" suppose them to be only cold, remiss, and negli- 
" g ef d of prayer \." > 

When, therefore, we consider the good fruits of 
the spirit of prayer, and all the train <vf evils which 
flow from the want of it, ought we not to take all 
possible pains to cultivate and cherish such a spirit, 
by being earnest and instant in all manner of prayer 
and supplication for ourselves and for others. This 
would, under God, be a sure mean of making us 

* See Zech, x. 8, Lam. iv. 13, f Vid. MassiloH ,. 



LECTURE V. 41 

ftoly and happy in ourselves, as well as useful to our 
people*. 

* " Ouranius is a holy priest, full of the spirit of the gos- 
< c pel, watching, labouring,, and praying for a poor country 
** village. Every soul in it is as dear to him as himself, and he 
'** loves them all as he loves himself; because he prays for 
re them all as often as he prays for himself. If his whole life 
*' is one continued exercise of great zeal and labour, hardly 
** ever satisfied with any degree of care and watchfulness, 'tis 
** because he has learned the great value of souls, by so often 
f<s appearing before God as an intercessor for them. He 
" goes about his parish, and visits every body in it ; but vi- 
K sits in the same spirit of piety that he preaches to them \ 
if he visits them to encourage their virtues, to assist them 
" with his advice and counsel, to discover their manner of 
" life, and to know the state of their souls, that he may in* 
90 tercede with God for them, according to their particular 

* necessities. When Ouranius first entered into holy orders, 
" he had a haughtiness in his temper, a great contempt and 
rf disregard for all foolish and unreasonable people : but he 
" has prayed away this spirit, and has now the greatest ten- 
" derness for the most obstinate sinners ; because he is al" 
<e ways hoping that God will, sooner or later, hear those 
(t prayers that he makes for their repentance. The rude- 
** ness, ill-nature, or perverse behaviour of any of his flock, 
et used first to betray him into impatience, but now it raises 
/f no other passion in him than a desire of being upon his 
•' knees in prayer to God for them. Thus have his prayers 
" for others altered and amended the state of his own hearty 
{{ It would strangely delight you to see with what spirit he 
t f converses, with what tenderness he reproves, with what 
" affection he exhorts and preaches to those for whom he first 

* prayed to God. This devotion softens his heart, enlight- 
" ens his mind, sweetens his temper, and makes every thing 
f « that comes from him instructive, amiable and affecting. 
e< He thinks the poorest creatures in his parish good enough, 
*' and great enough, to deserve the humblest attendances,. 



44 Lecture v. 

Of the matter, or manner of prayer, there is no 
occasidn to speak in this place. I shall only observe, 
in so many words, that for the manner and language 
of prayer, we, as well as others, would do well to 
take the scriptures for our model. In them we are 
taught what to ask, and how to ask ; insomuch that 
the weakest christian is not now so much at a loss 
as was the great philosopher of old, who could only 
say to God, " Give us that which is good, if we 
*' should not know how to ask it ; and avert that 
" which is evil, if we should ignorantly desire it. ,r 
If the heart of a man is really affected with his guilt, 
misery, and mercies, and well acquainted with the 
scriptures, it will never be at a loss for the most 
plain, the most natural, and the most forcible lan- 
guage, to express it's feelings. And if it has the 
grace of humility, it will seek to God only through 
the name and merits of the appointed Mediator. 

In regard to the manner to be observed in praying, 
I shall only say, that it should be as solemn, and se- 
rious, and fervent as possible. The length and fre- 
quency of the stated performance of this duty, I 
leave to your own hearts, with which, if they are 
right, they may safely be trusted*. I shall only re- 
mark, that we have much reason to rejoice in the 
frequent calls and opportunities, which we, above 
all other men, have to the high privilege of address- 
ing God by prayer : by prayer, which opens to the 
mind a scene of greater things, and a source of 
higher consolations, than any thing here below ; and 

re the kindest friendships, the tenderest offices he can possi- 
ee bly shew them. He presents every one of them so often 
* e before God in his prayers, that he never thinks he can es- 
'< teem, reverence, and serve those enough for whom he im- 

*' plores so many mercies from God." Law's Serious 

Call, &c. 

# Absit mulfca loctftio, sed ndn desit multaprecatio. Aust^ 



LECTURE V. 45 

which fills the soul with the hope, and prepares it for 
the enjoymentof the presence of God and the glory of 
heaven. Hence it was, that the primitive Christians 
for some hundred years, besides their hours of prayer 
in the day-time, rose from their beds (and some- 
times met publicly in their churches) to pray to God 
at midnight. I must also observe, that even our 
most private prayers ought to be cloathed in lan- 
guage, and expressed loud enough to be heard by 
ourselves, the better to engage our attention, and to 
get our hearts affected. For our devotion, like our- 
selves, must consist of body as well as spirit, so long 
at least as we are dwellers in the clay. I would not 
be understood as extending this direction to mental or 
ejaculatory prayer ; for then it might sometimes be 
improper or inconvenient, though not always. Re. 
member me, God, for good, said Nehemiah in his 
heart, while in the presence of his king, and enga- 
ged in the exercise of his office : I wait, O God, for 
thy salvation, said Jacob aloud in the midst of a 
most interesting and important conversation, con* 
cerning the fate of his posterity. 

Before I drop the subject of prayer, I must ob- 
serve, that praise (which I include in it) is no less 
becoming a minister of the gospel. Praise is the no- 
blest employment of our faculties, and that in which 
we approach nearest the perfection and felicity of 
celestial beings. It is, indeed, the highest preroga- 
tive of our nature, and the sublimest part of our 
worship. It is also the most delightful ; for, while 
prayer reminds us of our wants, and confession re- 
minds us of our sins, praise leads our thoughts to 
the pleasing recollection of mercies received, and of 
blessings still greater in prospect. It rejoices the soul, 
and cheers the spirits, and makes us both taste and 
trust the loving kindness of the Lord. In this exer- 
cise, therefore, it becomes us to be frequently enga- 
ged ; for occasions are never wanting. Our own 



40 lecture: v # 

mercies, and those of our people, with respect to 
soul and body, time and eternity ; with respect trf 
creation, preservation, and redemption, whatever way 
we turn our wondering eyes, suggest matter of per- 
petual praise and thankfulness. And if man should 
consider himself as the priest of creation, whose of- 
fice it is to praise God, not only for his goodness to 
men, but to the irrational and mute creation also, 
how much more should ministers of the gospel pre- 
sent to God an offering for every creature? Be it 
then our delight in time, as we hope it shall be our 
work in eternity, to sing, without ceasing, praise to 
him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb that 
was slain, and hath redeemed us by his blood, t0 b$ 
kings and priests of God for ever. 



LECTURE VI. 

That a Minister of the Gospel should be Self-denied 
and mortified to the World. 

IF any man will be my disciple, saith our Lord, let 
him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 
Self denial, which consists not only in watching and 
striving against every temptation, and in subduing 
every inclination to what is evil, but also in mode- 
rating our affections to what is even unlawful and 
innocent, is the first and absolute condition which 
Christ requires of all his followers. — How much 
more of his peculiar servants ! 

I am sensible, however, that this doctrine of self- 
denial, and of mortification (which is but the same 
principle carried forward to more perfection), is not 
only unpleasant, but at present unfashionable. It is^ 
therefore, the more necessary to insist upon it ; that, 
if possible, we may convince ourselves of it's indis- 
pensible necessity. For this purpose a very little re- 
flection may suffice us. Our appetites and passions 
^,re ready to rebel against the superior principle that 
should rule them, and to go beyond the limits assign- 
ed them by reason and religion. In other words^ 
the flesh lusteth against the spirit ; the lower against 
the higher part of our nature; so that it becomes 
the business of the christian to deny this part of him- 
self, and kill or mortify the flesh with the affections 
mid lusts thereof; to subdue every inclination to evil., 
although the exertion may sometimes be painful, as 
the cutting off the right hand, or plucking out the right 
eye. It is only, in so far as we thus deny ourselves, 
that we are true christians, and advance in virtue 
and piety. It is only, in so far as we subdue or de- 
xry ourselves the instances of vanity and pride, that 



4B LECTURE VI. 

we are humble ; and we are heavenly-minded, only 
in the measure irj which we subdue the instances of 
earthly affections. In short, every virtue is built on 
the ruin and self-denial of some vicious passion, or 
corrupt affection of our nature. It is therefore, as 
necessary to deny ourselves what would support and 
cherish the corruptions of our nature, as it is to pur- 
sue those things that would purify and exalt the 
soul. It is as necessary to mortify the body, with 
it's affections and lusts, as it is to cultivate and che- 
rish the principle of holiness*. Accordingly, St. 
Paul practised this self-denial and mortification, as a 
matter of absolute necessity, to secure his" salvation. 
Although he lived in infirmities, in reproaches, in ne- 
cessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's 
sake ; and, although he was also full of signs and 
wonders, and mighty deeds, and, caught up into the 
third heavens ; yet, without this self-denial and 
mortification, he thought his virtues insecure, his sal- 
vation in danger, and all his pious labours as vain as 
beating the air. So run I, says he, as not uncertainly ; 
so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. But I keep 
under my body, and bring it to subjection, lest that by 
any means, when I have preached to others, I myself 
should be a cast- away. 

Hence it appears, that he who does not thus run 
a life of mortification and self-denial, runs uncer- 
tainly ; and that he who does not thus fight and sub* 
due himself, fights to as little purpose as if he beat 
the air. What more then need be said of the 
necessity of bearing our cross daily, and living a life 
of mortification and self-denial ? Even an apostle, 
preaching the gospel, with signs and wonders, in the 
midst of labour, distress and persecution, for Christ's 
sake, thought his own salvation in danger without 
this mortification and subjection of his body : And- 
ean we, who have no such pretensions, expect to 
get to heaven upon any other terms ? 

* See Law on Christian Perfection. 



LECTURE VI. 49 

As we are called to be followers of Christ, to have 
a conformity to his life, and especially to have a fel- 
lowship with him in his sufferings, we must of ne- 
cessity practice this christian duty, if we would tread 
in our Master's footsteps, and have a share in his 
kingdom. Without it, indeed, we cannot be parta- 
kers of the heavenly nature ; for this cannot be at- 
tained, until we have first subdued our earthly nature, 
with all it's vain and corrupt affections. Then only 
can we have a true relish for divine and heavenly 
tilings, and have our souls in a fit frame to receive 
the divine grace, and to have fellowship and com- 
munion with the Divine Spirit. We ought, therefore, 
not only to bear our cross patiently, but to take it 
up cheerfully ; and even to seek and embrace occasi- 
ons of putting self-denial daily in practice. By the 
appointment of God, the expiation of sin seems to 
be made by suffering ; and, therefore, we ought to 
show our readiness to have a fellowship, and to co- 
operate with the great Sufferer, by cheerfully bear- 
ing what we can of the burden. We ought to 
confess the debt which we have contracted, by at 
least something like an acknowledgement that it's 
penalty may be required of us. — And if we consid- 
er the cross in the light of discipline, and not of pu- 
nishment, we may see no less reason to bear it wil- 
lingly, however painful and difficult, in order to sub- 
due the pride, vanity, corruption, and sensuality of 
our nature. Painful and difficult, I own, this duty 
may be ; but, as it's utility, and even necessity, can 
not be denied, nothing ought to deter us from it's 
practice. The satisfaction of doing our duty, and 
of living up to the dignity of our nature, in the pre- 
sent world, with the prospect of an eternal reward 
in the next, are motives abundantly strong to put us 
upon every possible exertion. And, if our powers 
are exerted, they will, by the grace of God, be al- 
ways equal to our duty. If we have only resolution 

IT 



50 LECTURE VL 

to begin, and perseverance to go through, what is it 
that we cannot accomplish ? By means of these, and 
of the grace of God, which is never wanting, we 
see what others have been enabled to perform ; and 
the same road to glory still lies open. What noble 
instances have we in St. Paul, and in the primitive 
christians, of the exercise of self-denial, by which 
they kept their bodies under, endured hardships, and 
triumphed over the world? And, in latter times, 
what astonishing instances of it do we see in the mis- 
taken cruelties exercised on their own flesh and blood, 
by devout and holy men, such as Francis, Simon., 
and one nearer home, St. Kentigern*, till they had 
perfectly attained their end ? And if these men could 
perform so much, in cases in which we cannot sup- 
pose they had any supernatural assistance, what may 
not a man perform in those required instances of du- 
ty, in which he has the promise of the grace of God 
to aid him ? 

There is in the human mind, a spring, or impetus, 
which can do wonders, if properly excited, but 
whose effect is never so visible as when exercised in 
the cause of religion. The mind then rises above it's 
usual pitch, and seems possessed of a strength above 
it's own. Hence the miracles recorded of the con < 
stancy and suffering of martyrs, of the weakest sex 
and tenderest age. — And even in false religions, the 
belief of their doing what was pleasing to God, made 



* Accounts of St Francis, and of Simon, (who lived forty 
3>cars on the top of a pillar) may be seen inMosheim, &c. and 
of Kentigern, the following specimen may suffice — Dormivit 
t( super lapides, cineribus asperrimus substratis — etdura psar 
* v terimcantaret, in frigida aqua manebat. — In ipso libidini 8 
" ignk, vel in vigil an do, vel etiam dormiendo, ita extinctus^ 
< f ut (sicuti discipulis suis quadam vice profitebatur) non ma- 
< e gis ad speciosissimas puclla? visum, aut tactum, quam ail 
* f durissimi filicis stimularetur." — Vila Kentig. 



UECTURE VI. 51 

men perform severer exercises than any of those 
which Christianity requires. We might instance in 
the priests of Baal, of Moloch, and the whole fra- 
ternity of Bramins. The Athenian priests too, know- 
ing the necessity of self-denial, made strange efforts 
to mortify the body, and subject it to the soul, that 
they might be more entirely devoted to the service of 
their gods, and perform the functions of their office 
without distraction*. 

Now, if all these, from mere natural fortitude, 
could do and bear so much, what might not we en^ 
dure or perform in that better cause, in which we 
have stronger motives, nobler promises, and brighter 
prospects? Let us remember how these considerate 
ons animated the martyrs in their fiery trials. — "■ How 
" can you endure the torments you are going to suf- 
& fer? ?> said a heathen to one of them, as he cheer- 
fully walked to the stake. " Ah ! ,? replyed the mar- 
tyr, " you know nothing of the joy which I expect, 
•« nor of the torment which I feart/* 

Whoever keeps his eye steadily fixed on heaven 
and hell, the hope and the fear of the martyr will 
make little account of the self-denial required by the 
gospel. It is no more than is necessary, as the test 
of our virtue, and as the evidence of our fidelity, in 
this our state of trial. It is no more than is neces- 
sary, for making us fit members of the society of 
true christians here, and fit for being members of the 
society of heaven. We must, therefore, take up 
our cross daily, strive against every the least tenden- 
cy and temptation to evil, and learn habitually to 

* Legimus Hierophantes Atheniensium, postquam in poru 
tificatum evicti erant, ut castissime sanctissimeque sacrum 
facerent cicutae sorbitione castrari. — Alex, ab Alexand, et Je~ 
rom. contra Jovian. 

t Nondum vidisti requiem quam speramus, neq tormenta 
quae timemus. 



52 



LECTURE VI. 



maintain the conflict, till at length we shall, by di- 
vine assistance, be more than conquerors, and have 
the corruptions of our nature thoroughly subdued. 
These efforts are particularly necessary, till our good 
habits are sufficiently confirmed ; after which, the 
trial of our virtue will be more easily borne, although 
we must at no time lay aside our arms, or dispense 
with our vigilance, We must be faithful unto the 
death, if we would then expect the crown of life. 

Nor is it enough to resist our inclinations to what 
is wrong ;. we must also moderate our affections to 
those worldly and earthly objects and pursuits, which, 
within their proper bounds, may be lawful and inno- 
cent. One of the fathers, on observing that the ex- 
cuses made by those who were invited to the marri- 
age supper were all of this nature, cried out, " Peri- 
* ' mus Ileitis !" The things that are allowed us may 
prove a snare, and occasion our destruction. 

A christian must, therefore, not only suppress eve- 
ry motion of envy, malice and revenge, and cleanse 
himself of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, but 
also check and restrain all immoderate desires of 
wealth, reputation, pleasure, and even of such en- 
tertainments and amusements as are deemed, in a 
certain degree, to be innocent. He must habitually 
exercise that self-government, which requires every 
appetite and passion to be subject to the laws of right 
reason; and partake, with much moderation and 
temperance, of those recreations and pleasures which 
are not forbidden. — " Had this fly," said the dervise, 
holding in his hand a cup of honey in which a fly 
had been drowned, " had this fly only tasted of the 
" honey from the edge of the cup, she might have 
" been safe ; but, wading in, she found destruction." 

This duty of self-denial is the more necessary, as 
there is such constant occasion for it's exercise. 
Hence one of the ancient heathen moralists made 
self-denial, or, " bear and forbear," the sum of his 
pystem. Self-denial is a duty that must be daily and 



LECTURE VI. 53 

hourly practised. It is the ordinary field of battle, 
in which we must fight the good fight of faith, and 
in which all our graces and virtues are to be exercis- 
ed and put in practice. The opportunities of show- 
ing some of the more heroic virtues of patriotism, 
generosity, magnanimity, and the like, occur but 
seldom in the ordinary course of human life ; but we 
have constant occasion to subdue the stirrings of pas- 
sion, to suppress the motions of envy, malice, and 
resentment, and every impure and inordinate desire. 
And, in proportion as these weeds are killed in the 
soul, by the exercise of self-denial, every virtue re- 
garding God, our neighbour, or ourselves, will of 
course, grow up and thrive ; such as, devotion and 
charity, humility and meekness, peace and purity, 
equity and candour. And whoever is in the daily 
habit of practising these more useful and ordinary 
virtues, is surely the fittest for discharging the more 
rare and splendid ones, when any occasion is offer- 
ed. 

Such, then, is the utility and necessity of self-de- 
nial, even to an ordinary christian ; but how much 
more to a minister of the gospel ? We, my brethren, 
above all men, must be deaf to the calls of worldly 
ambition, dead to this life, and to it's pleasures, even 
when innocent ; mortified to the body, and to all it's 
lusts and affections. We must be temperate in all 
things, as were those who strove for the mastery; 
and with infinitely more reason, considering, that 
while their prize was a corruptible, ours is an incor- 
ruptible crown. We must use what is lawful and 
necessary in this world, as if we used it not : and, 
by our example, teach our people to live a spiritual 
and heavenly life, as much as possible independant 
of this body, which we must soon live without, and 
of this world, which we must soon leave behind. 
We must make no account of the difficulty, as, by 
our earnest care, aided by the grace of God, it wil 



54 LECTUEE VI. 

soon be conquered. Indeed, when we subdue the 
horse and the elephant, it is with a bad grace we can 
allege, that over our own inferior nature our spirit 
cannot have the same command. You bring your 
horse and your ass to obey the rein ; is your own 
nature more perverse and intractable than theirs ? 



LECTURE VfL 

That a Minister of the Gospel should be Heavenly- 
minded. 



AFTER mortifying our affections to this worlds 
we must next raise and fix them on another. — It is a 
saying of the Jewish rabbies, That the spirit of pro- 
phecy resides not with any man whose affections are 
not raised above the world, and fixed on heaven. 
With equal truth may we say, that the Spirit of God 
will not reside with that minister of the gospel, whose 
heart is not raised above all earthly things, whose 
soul is not associated to angels, and who is not chan- 
ged into the imas:e of his Master. And vet it must 
be owned, that the priests of all religions have, in 
almost all ages, been accused of having too strong a 
passion for the present world. What they were obli- 
ged to condemn in their doctrine, they were accused 
of encouraging in their conduct. Perhaps the charge 
was, in a great measure, owing to the conspicuous 
light in which persons of the sacred order are placed, 
rand to the peculiar deformity with which this vice 
must appear, when, at any time, found in their cha- 
racter. It is, indeed, a feature peculiarly shocking 
in a minister of that religion, which teaches men to 
turn the whole bent of their mind towards another 
world, and to look down with a sovereign contempt 
on all earthly things. 

A strong love to the world, and to the things of the 
world, may be called the basest, and most sordid of 
passions. The minister or even the man, in whom you 
discover it, you may safely mark down as one who 
loves neither God nor man. Neither devotion nor 
humanity can reside in the same breast with avarice. 
Hence the great apostle scruples not to call the love of 
money the root of all evil; and, rath peculiar ear- 



56 LECTURE VII. 

nestness and vehemence, he entreats the man of God 
to flee from it. Astonishing, indeed ! that the man 
of God should be in any danger from such an enemy. 
Hath not he God for his portion ? and for the por- 
tion of his family ? Is it not written, The Lord is the 
Levitts portion ? Is it not written, Leave thy father- 
less children to me, and let thy widow trust in me ? 
Who is there on earth that has such a security against 
want, so strong a charter for provision, as he who 
hath thus the promise of him to whom the earth be- 
longs and all if s fulness ? Who is there, in every re- 
spect, so secure and fortified as he ? His defence, in- 
deed, is the munition of rocks, firm as heaven could 
make it. Yet strong as the bulwark is, the enemy 
hath often, when it was not guarded, got within it's 
trenches. He hath often entered the sanctuary itself, 
and slain the man of God, even at the side of the 
altar. — How then can we be secure against an enemy 
that hath slain his thousands, unless we cultivate 
that heavenly mindedness which will elevate us above 
the region of danger, and place us in a situation in 
which the shafts of this grovelling foe can never reach 
us ? 

Let us remember, my brethren, that an immoder- 
ate fondness for the things of the present world, 
whether discovered in keen desires of getting more, 
or in a selfish spending or hoarding of what one al- 
ready has, is inconsistent with the character of a true 
christian, who must always consider himself as a cit- 
izen of that country which puts no value on such 
things, and as a sojourner and stranger upon earth. 
But how much more is this cast of mind inconsist- 
ent with the character of a minister, whose views 
and affections ought to be exalted above those of 
other men, and whose conduct should always point 
him out as a man of God, and a denizen of heaven ?* 

* The apostolic canons (Can. iv.) appoint those priests and 



LECTURE Vil. 57 

Yes, my brethren, if all the rest of the world should 
mind earthly things, we ought to mind the things 
that are heavenly. We ought to remember that we 
are born to nobler prospects than any thing which 
this world can set before us ; that we are engaged 
in a more important work than the pursuit of it's 
trifles ; and that it is no less dangerous than unbe- 
coming to allow our souls to be enamoured of the 
things of earth, of sense, and of time. Like the cha- 
riot-wheel in the mire, the soul will move heavily 
towards heaven, when it's affections are deeply set 
upon the world. For our faculties are so circum- 
scribed and limited, that we cannot intensely pur- 
sue two ends so remote as earth and heaven. If we 
attend very much to the first, the world will believe 
that we pay no attention at all to the last ; as indeed 
we cannot pay it much, since no man can serve two 
such opposite masters as God and Mammon. If 
any man love the world, the love of the Father is not 
in him. 

Far be it from me, however, to encourage such 
inattention and indifference to our circumstances as 
might lead us to any embarrassing or distressful situ- 
ation. This would equally hurt our usefulness, and 
be still more injurious to our neighbour. Our cir- 
cumstances too, too often need all the economy in 
our power to make them barely supply our necessa^ 
ry wants, without giving sometimes one half of 
what we would wish to relieve the poor. In this 
too common and unhappy case, it is our business to 
avoid every thing superfluous, or unnecessary, or 
expensive ; in all things to retrench what we can, to 
give in the measure we are able, but to take care to 
be always within our income, however small, so as 
never to owe any thing to any man, but love. Thus 

bishops to be deposed who immerse themselves in worldly 
affairs. See 2 Tim. ii. 4. 

I 



68 LECTURE VII. 

a small matter, by the blessing of God, will go far •;*■ 
and a cheerful, contented, and heavenly frame will 
be maintained, in circumstances far from affluent. 
And, even in their low estate, such greatness of mind 
becomes those who expect to be soon kings, as well 
as priests to God. Though now, like their master, 
their kingdom is not of this world, they may well 
rejoice in the sure and near prospect of a better in- 
heritance. 

Therefore, my brethren, let us, who not only ex- 
pect to be kings ourselves, but who offer crowns of 
glory to others, despise every transitory vanity : let 
us, who tell others that the care of the soul is the one 
thing needful, beware of acting, at any time, in oppo- 
sition to what we say, and of making our practice a 
contrast to our sermons. Otherwise, what occasion 
shall we give to the wicked to triumph, and to the 
godly to mourn, on seeing the gold become dim, and 
the most fine gold changed ; on seeing the: sonsofSion, y 
the king's children, who should be clothed in scarlet, 
embrace the dunghill f 

God forbid, my brethren, that any of us should 
thus give the preference to the present world. Could 
Moses, when permitted to contemplate the effulgence 
of the divine glory on the mount, prefer to fix his 
eye on the gold with which the children of Israel 
corrupted themselves on the plain ? Or could the 
three disciples, amid the splendours of the transfigu- 
ration, and in the presence of Christ, of Moses, and 
of Elias, prefer any wordly joy to that glorious vi- 
sion ? It is not possible. And shall we, who, like 
them, are admitted to the honour of enjoying the 
most exalted and refined pleasure which results from 
the fellowship and communion of our God, allow 
our affections to fix on gross and earthly objects ? 
Shall we not rather, from the eminence on which we 
stand, look down with contempt on the insignificant 
trifles which occupy the thoughts of wordly men ; 



LECTURE va. 59 

and view the world itself as only the transient abode 
of still more transient beings ? Instead of loving it, 
shall we not felicitate ourselves with the prospect of 
oar being so soon to leave it, and anticipate the ever- 
lasting glory to which we shall be raised above it ? 
In this world, then, my brethren, having thus so 
high and so near a prospect in another, seek ye great 
things for yourselves ? Seek them not*. "Leave all," 
says Augustin, " and you shall find all : For every 
" thing is to be found in God, by him who, for the 
'* sake of God, despiseth every thing." 

" Since you pretend to so reputable a character," 
said Socrates to a man of Athens, " and since you 
R are a denizen of the most famous city in the world, 
u are you not ashamed to make it your business to 
a acquire riches, or renown, or power, and, at the 
u same time, slight the treasures of truth and wis- 
a dom, and neglect to improve your soul to the high- 
u est perfection of which it is capable ?" 

Had Socrates been acquainted with the character 
which we bear, and the city to which we belong, 
how should he address us ? " Ye men of God," he 
might say, " and ambassadors of the most high, 
" (for such, ye say, ye are), what sordid trifles must 
u all that mortals admire appear to persons of your 
" divine and august character ! Ye disciples of the 
*' Son of God, what holiness becomes your profes- 
" sion ! Ye heirs of the unspeakable glory of hea- 
ic ven, what dross and dung must ye count the earthy 
" and all that it contains ! Surely you would be a- 
" shamed to covet more of this world than food and 
u raiment ; that is, the bare necessary accommoda- 
" tion of your transient passage. Solely intent upon 
" the business of your heavenly calling, your ambi- 
(i tion, no doubt, centres all in heaven. If you can- 
u not make the world wise, you at least spend your 

* Jer. xlv. 5» 



60 LECTURE VII. 

'* lives in attempting it ; and, if you can do no more, 
"you surely raise your own souls to a pitch of heav-* 
" enly-mindodnfess, of which blinded mortals have 
u hardly any conception. n 

So should any one imagine, who would form his 
ideas of the elevation of our souls from the nature of 
our holy office and profession. And with much rea* 
son ; for what a glorious advantage does our office 
give us for excelling all others in heavenly-minded- 
ness ! Our life is devoted to the contemplation of 
God and heaven ; to the preaching of Christ and his 
salvation. Others are glad of the leisure of the Sab- 
bath, and some other small portions of time snatched 
from their daily business ; but our whole life is a 
Sabbath, in which we have almost nothing to do, 
but to think and to speak of God and of heaven. 
What a blessed life is ours, if we have that elevation 
of soul, and that heavenly frame of mind, which 
suits it ! 

And if we, my brethren, wish to attain to this ele- 
vation of mind, this divine temper, we must labour 
to impress our hearts with a strong conviction, that 
all those things which the men of the world love and 
pursue so keenly, have in them no power of confer- 
ring any real or lasting felicity. To feed, clothe, and 
lodge a dying body, for a few years, is the full a- 
mount of them. And surely this is rather the felici- 
ty of a brute, than of a rational, immaterial, and 
immortal essence, such as the human soul, whether 
in the body or out of it ; for this alone is the man. 

We must therefore accustom ourselves to think, 
that the true happiness of this true man, in the life 
that now is, as well as in that which is to come, even 
through all the revolutions of eternity, consists in 
humility, purity, charity, and piety ; in the consci- 
ousness of possessing, and in the joy of exercising, 
these and the like virtues ; in the present sens of the 
divine favour, and in the ravishing hope of enjoying 



LECTURE VII. 61 

£hat favour for ever and ever. We must frequently 
raise our souls to the contemplation and almost vi- 
sion of God, and call forth all their powers to the 
imitation of those moral attrihutes which constitute 
his chiefest glory and excellence, till we perceive our 
natures assimilated to his ; till we feel our spirits re- 
joice with hope, and long with desire, to be eternally 
and inseparably with him. It is this sacred feeling, 
this unspeakable joy, that will effectually convince 
us, that all other things that can possibly engage the 
cares, the hopes, and the fears of mortals, are no- 
thing but emptiness and delusion, vanity and vexa- 
tion of spirit. They are like those dreams which a- 
muse at midnight the unhappy wretch who is doom- 
ed to suffer in the morning. It is this deep, strong, 
and abiding conviction of the emptiness and delusion 
of those things that court the outward senses, and of 
the superlative and unspeakable value of unseen and 
everlasting things, that must elevate our souls above 
every mean and sordid purpose and pursuit, and in- 
spire them with ardour and perseverance to attain 
those habits of holiness and virtue, which alone can 
make us truly and eternally happy. 

The busy mind of man must always have some- 
thing to engage it's attention ; and if we, who are the 
guides of mankind, cannot convince them that this 
something ought to be the chief good, let us .at least 
show them that we are perfectly convinced of this 
truth ourselves. While we direct them to fix their 
ambition on the things that are heavenly, let our 
own be disengaged from the things that are earthly, 
and our affections visibly and strongly placed on the 
things that are above. While we preach to them, 
that the riches, honour, and glory of this world are 
empty and evanescent things, and that the love, the 
favour, and the friendship of God, and the imitation 
of his moral excellence, are the only satisfying joys, 
the only true and durable happiness, let our conduct 



62 LECTURE VII. 

show them that we speak from feeling and convic- 
tion, and that our souls find a peace, joy, and felici- 
ty unspeakable, in those spiritual, heavenly, and 
eternal objects, which we recommend so warmly to 
their care and attention. It is incredible what weight 
this elevation of soul and sanctity of conduct would 
give to our discourses, and how much it would in- 
crease their influence on mankind. When we tell 
them, that to know, love, imitate, and enjoy God, 
is the chief and only felicity of man, for time and 
for eternity, if we confirm what we say by our own 
example, it will strike with a force that is almost ir- 
resistible, and will effectually convince and persuade 
our hearers. To this heavenly-mindedness, under 
the grace of God, it was owing, that the first preach- 
ers of Christianity made such noble conquests. 
They were crucified to the world, and the world to 
them, and all the impetus of the soul was directed to 
a single object. When this is the case, man can yet 
do wonders ; especially in that work in which Om- 
nipotence is engaged to help him. 

Let us then acquaint ourselves more and more 
with God, and seek our felicity and joy in the con- 
templation, love, and adoration of his glorious per- 
fections ; in meditating on his word, trusting in his 
providence, relying on his promises, and imitating his 
moral attributes. And, believe it, my brethren, our 
happiness will be always growing in proportion to 
the progress which we make in this heavenly study; 
insomuch, that even in the present world, we may 
arrive at a degree of joy as far above what we yet 
feel or conceive, as the impressions made upon us by 
objects, when awake, exceed the faint representation 
which they make on our fancy when asleep ; that 
is, as much as the presence of our dearest friend ex- 
ceeds the indistinct idea left of him by a dream at 
night. 



LECTURE VII* 63 ? 

And is it possible, my brethren, that we have in 
us a capacity of climbing nearer the throne of God, 
than we almost ever do in the present life, and shall 
we not have the ambition to attempt it ? Shall we 
not make ever} 7 effort to break the charm that binds 
our infatuated soul to it's dark and earthly mansion, 
and mount on the wings of joy and desire towards 
heaven ? Shall not the power of the gospel, which 
we preach to others, be more manifest in our own 
life and conversation, so as to make us live by faith 
and not by sense, and fix our souls immoveably on 
the pursuit of holiness, on the contemplation of God, 
and on the joys of Paradise ? The unspeakable joy 
which this exercise would raise in us, would, on 
earth, be a foretaste of heaven ; and the ravishing 
hope it would create in us, of being soon raised to 
the glory which we now long and look for, would 
make this world and all it's glory vanish ; so as to 
have no temptation to draw our thoughts from the 
object of our felicity. And the more we contem- 
plate God, the more we are transformed to his like- 
ness ; insomuch, that, on earth, we go on with the 
progressive glory and joy of heaven. For what is 
the glory and joy of heaven, but the uninterrupted 
contemplation, and unceasing imitation of God, the 
source of all blessedness and perfection ? And shall 
we not have as much as possible of this glory and 
joy even now ; and, in the hope of having more of 
it in his presence hereafter, purify ourselves, even as 
he is pure V — It is, indeed, astonishing, that we ; 
whose business it is to meditate on these things our- 
selves, and to urge them on others, are not more 
firmly established in the practical belief of the delu- 
sive vanity and emptiness of this world, whose fa- 
shion passeth away, and whose dazzling glories are 
but flying shadows. It is astonishing that our souls 
are not raised above it, and for ever fixed on the 
joyful contemplation of God, and on the glorious 



64 LECTURE VIL 

hope of being soon eternally and inseparably with 
him, in the abodes of knowledge, holiness, and hap^ 
piness, with all the society of blessed and immortal 
spirits. That men of our profession, occupation, and 
prospect, should almost think or speak of any thing 
else, and much less seek any great things for our- 
selves in the present life, is, when the matter is du- 
ly weighed, abundantly astonishing. But that we 
should not only think and speak, but often act, like 
those who have their portion in this world only, is 
a mournful as well as an astonishing consideration ** 
What should we, therefore, do, my brethren, but 
endeavour, by retirement, meditation, and prayer, 
to lix our hearts more on God, and on the superla- 
tive glory of spiritual and eternal things ; till we feel 
stronger impressions of their worth, and are more 
convinced of their reality and nearness. Then the 
joy and happiness arising from the contemplation of 
God, and the glory of his kingdom, w T ill make these 
themes alone delightful, and give them a decided 
preference in our estimation. Then, elevated above 
the trifles of time, our thoughts w T ill be engrossed 
w T ith the eternity which we preach, and we shall 
scorn the groveling pursuits of earth ourselves, when 
we recommend heaven to others. Then, having 
chosen God for our only portion, we shall delight; 
ourselves in his favour, and love him, when we 
know him, with all the affections of our soul. And, 
having attained to this love, it will extinguish the 
immoderate love of all inferior things, as the intense 
beams of the sun extinguish fire. 



* SeePrin. Leechman's Syn. Serm, 



LECTURE VIII. 

That a Minister of the Gospel should be Heavenly in 
his Conversation, 

OF all the creatures under heaven, man is the on- 
ly one that has religion, and the only one that has 
speech, A plain intimation that the latter was meant 
to be subservient to the former, and that the creature 
endowed with both was designed to be the priest of 
the creation, who should offer up, in the name of 
all, that tribute of praise and homage which is 
so due to the great Creator. Distinguished by rea- 
son, by religion, and by speech, it was intended 
that he should employ these talents in the contem- 
plation and praise of the divine perfections ; in cele- 
brating the wonders of creation, the equity of God's 
government, the goodness of his laws, the manifest ^ 
ations of his love, especially in the redemption of 
mankind by his Son, and the honour and happiness 
of being devoted to his service. But if this should be 
the occupation of men, how much more of ministers, 
who are peculiarly consecrated to the service of God 
and of religion ; and who, as the salt of the earth „ 
ought to season every company of which they make 
a part. 

Yes, my brethren, every minister ought to lay 
out all his faculties in doing good to his people ; and, 
for this purpose, he ought particularly to take heed 
to his conversation. If every idle word which or- 
dinary christians speak, they have an account to give 
at the day of judgment, how wise, how holy, how 
heavenly should be the conversation of a minister of 
the gospel, of a servant of Jesus, of him whom God 
hath sent with his word in his mouth, in order to 
•plant (and, as it were, by a kind of creation and 
feUoW'twrkmg with himself, to add to the inhalbi- 

K 



06 LECTURE VlfiT. 

iants of) the heavens} Shall those hallowed lip% 
which one while deliver the most important truths, 
in the name of God, and in the room of Christ, at 
other times defile themselves with vain words and 
trifling discourses ? Shall the same fountain cast 
forth sweet and bitter waters ? Accustomed to the 
songs of angels, what relish can they find for those 
levities, to say the best of them, which often find 
place in the mouths of the children of men ? What 
an incongruity would this be in an ambassador sent 
from God* ? 

Our conversation, my brethren, should always be 
marked with a peculiar character of gravity, modes- 
ty, and piety. By this we should show that we are 
the men of God upon earth, and a different class from 
the generality of mankind. The mouth of a mini- 
ster of the gospel, to use the language of holy writ, 
should be a sharp sword, and his words polished 
shafts, used on all occasions in the service of his 
Master, and never allowed to contract any rust by 
being seldom employed. What then shall we say 
of those ministers who have seldom any thing seri- 
ous, edifying, or heavenly, in their ordinary con- 
versation ? Ah ! what irrecoverable opportunities 
do they let go ; what precious moments do they lose 
in trifling ! How do they know but one well-timed 
word might be blessed as the mean of saving a soul ? 
A word in season, how good is it ! How do they 
know but their private labours might be more use- 
ful than their public discourses ? Their public dis- 
courses may never be heard by those who most need 
them ; but who, from ignorance, indolence, or pro- 
faneness, may not come to hear them. And, if they 
should, they may not apply them to themselves ; or, 
at least, may not be out of the need of having them 

* Novae sortis oportet ilium esse, qui, Deo jubente, ca- 
•nTt.— • Seneca, 



LECTURE VilL ftf 

•Enforced by considerations peculiar to themselves, 
and very improper, perhaps, to be urged in public. 
Speaking to them privately, separately, and suitably 
to their various circumstances and conditions in life, 
may produce happier effects than either they or he 
•could look for. 

In our public ministrations, my brethren, men 
may come to hear us on their guard. But, in fa- 
miliar discourse, this guard is thrown off ; the har- 
ness is, as it were, drawn aside, and the access to 
the heart is open. Sermons are addressed to multi- 
tudes, and cannot always be made to suit the particu- 
lar case of every hearer. Besides, they want that 
life and energy, that address and insinuation, which 
always attend a private conference. Hence, we 
find our Saviour himself making converts much 
oftener by his private conversation than by his pub • 
lie teaching, though he spake as never man did. And 
such of his ministers as imitate his example, will be 
found to do more good in this way, perhaps in a few 
minutes, than by the labours of whole days in the 
pulpit. " Thou hast done more harm," said once a 
Lord Chancellor of England to a faithful minister, 
u thou hast done more harm by thy private exhor- 
ft tations in prison, than thou didst by thy preaching 
" before thou wast put in." 

Thus, my brethren, should we embrace every opr- 
portunity, in private as well as in public, of giving 
conversation a religious and heavenly turn ; and of 
leading men insensibly, and ere they are aware, to 
holiness and virtue. And whether the world call 
this in season, or, out of season, we thereby approve 
ourselves to God and conscience. Nay, even those 
fools who may in words condemn us on this account, 
must in their heart esteem us, and confess that we 
act with propriety. For this tribute vice must for 
ever pay to virtue-. 



6# LECTURE VIU. 

All our conversation, my brethren, ought to aim 
at the glory of God and the good of souls. For this 
purpose, is it not necessary to make any display 
of knowledge or learning ? No ; to make men know 
practically and spiritually those things which in theo- 
ry, perhaps, they know already ; to make those no- 
tions that float in the head sink into the heart, and 
influence the conduct ; to kindle in the soul the love 
of holiness and virtue ; to stir up the affections to 
the love of God and man ; to call home the thoughts 
to the consideration of our present and future state, 
and other eternal and important truths, so as to 
discover a new sweetness and use in things with 
which we are already acquainted, — these, and the 
like, are the great objects which, in our conversa- 
tion, we ought always to have in view. And did 
christians in general, and we in particular, attend to 
our character and hope, our thoughts would surely 
be much more occupied in the contemplation of our 
blessed immortality and home in heaven, and in 
comforting and encouraging one another to submit 
cheerfully to the inconvenience of the way, to over- 
look the intervening moment, and to fix our eye 
inimoveably on those glories -at which, in a short 
time, we expect to arrive. 

Such subjects of conversation are flowers which 
afford sweets that can never be exhausted. But, in 
extracting them, we must avoid every thing that may 
appear stiff, formal, or severe, in our manner. Our 
speech and carriage should be meek and modest, as 
well as grave; and our behaviour always engaging 
and affable. — " His piety " says the biographer of a 
late pastor*, " though awfully strict, was inexpres- 
tC sibly amiable. It diffused such a sweetness through 
(i his temper, and such benevolence over his coun- 
u tenance, as none who knew him can ever forget. 



* Bishop Bcn3on, 



LECTUHE Vltf. ($ 

a — He looked upon all that the world calls impor- 
tant, itV pleasures, it's riches, it's various competi- 
" tions, with a playful and good-natured kind of 
* contempt, and could make persons ashamed of 
" their follies by a raillery that never gave pain to 
** any human being. Of vice he always spoke with 
" severity and detestation, but looked on the vicious 
" with the tenderness of a pitying angel. Wherever 
u he went, he carried cheerfulness and improvement 
" along with him." 

Cheerfulness, my brethren, becomes us too ; for 
when our eye, like Stephen's, is stedfastly fixed on 
the glory of heaven, our face, like his, may well 
shine as that of an angel. "Serve God, and be cheer- 
ful*," and you act most agreeably to the genius of 
our holy religion . Cheerfulness disposes the mind 
to the noblest acts of religion, to the love, adoration, 
and praise of God, to complacency in his govern- 
ment, and trust in his promises. On the other hand, 
these, and all the other acts of devotion, reciprocal- 
ly dispose the soul to cheerfulness, and joyful sereni- 
ty. To contemplate the perfections of God, and the 
glorious display of them in his works, of creation, 
providence, and redemption ; to love him, serve him,- 
praise him, trust, and rejoice in him; these are sure- 
ly the most delightful exercises of the soul ; and, the 
more that any one abounds in them, the more he 
anticipates the joy of heaven. 

Of all the men in the world, then, cheerfulness 
both in countenance and conversation, best becomes 
us, if we live up to our profession and character. 
Mirth, however, belongs almost altogether to others. 
' It is not the part of a minister of the gospel, at any 
F time, to excel in farce and comedy. Leave it to 
" jesters and buffoons to spread the laugh, and set 
" the table in a roar." That joy, which is the fruit 

* The motto of a late bishop. 



70 . LECTURE YHI. 

of the spirit, and which not only become*, but is en- 
joined on us, is of a different cast, and of a higher 
kind. It is calm, cheerful, and serene, as the up- 
per regions of heaven ; and is as different from mirth 
as wisdom is from folly. Foolish talking and jesU 
ing*, to us, above all men, are not convenient : to 
trs who should know best, and always remember, 
that for every idle word which men speak tliey shall 
^give an account at the day of judgment, and receive 
a recompence suitable to it's tendency ; to U6, " whose 
*' office must frequently present to our thoughts the 
" afflictions of this mortal state, the holiness of God's 
M law, our own grievous imperfections, the deplo- 
u rable sins of many others, and the final sentence 
a which awaits us allf." 

With an office so serious, and a character so sa- 
ered as ours, my brethren, levity and mirth but ill 
accord. To endeavour to make religion agreeable, 
is proper, but to make ourselves agreeable, by help- 
ing our company to forget religion, is exceedingly 
faulty. The bulk of mankind, indeed, expect, 
whatever they do themselves, that we should act 
Consistently with our character, and retain always, 
in our conversation and countenance, such sacred 
gravity and such cheerful and modest meekness, as. 
may procure respect to religion, even from those 
who do not love it. And, if we cannot thus main- 
tain the dignity of our character and the credit of 
religion, wherever we are, then our solemn and sud- 
den silence, our abrupt departure, or reluctant re- 
proof, as prudence may direct, should mark our in- 
dignant sense of what is going on. To listen to any 
thing immoral, without shewing that we are dis- 
pleased, in us is to be prophane. To give the sanc- 

* Aristotle places this among his half-virtues ; but the 
gospel, a nobler system, gives no room at all to it. 
f Seeker. 



LECTURE VIII. 71 

tibn of our presence to vice, without any symtom 
of disapprobation, were to betray our trust to God. 
For, in this sense, he who is not with him is against 
him. In mixing with our people, therefore, we 
should be. their models, and not their companions or 
imitators. We are at the head of our flocks, and 
ought to be their guides. But if any of them be of 
such a cast as not to permit this, we ought not to 
mix with them at all ; but to separate ourselves from 
so untoward a generation. In so unhappy a case as 
this, i; our visits to sinners," as one of the fathers 
observes, " ought to be as rare as were the appear- 
" ances of angels to the saints of old." Any intima- 
cy, indeed, which we may have with the irreligious- 
or prophane, beyond what common civility requires,, 
or the prospect of reforming them allows, is at the 
cxpence of our character, and, I may add, of our 
piety too. Besides, our conduct will offend the weak,, 
and excite the contempt or indignation of the wise 
and good, so that we cannot be useful to either. 

In all the intercourse which we may have with 
our people, we should be careful to interfere as little 
As possible with their worldly affairs. " For a priest 
" to become a judge," says Plato, " would be to de- 
" file himself, and to derogate from his character." 
To lay hold of every opportunity of disposing all 
men to a mutual good opinion and good will, is in- 
deed our duty. But any thing further will in all 
likelihood draw upon us the hatred of one party, 
and the common imputation of being meddling. The 
office of umpire, in settling differences, was declined 
by our Lord himself; and his example ought, in 
every thing, to be a law to us. Who, as he said of 
himself, hath made us lawgivers or judges ? Oar 
own province is enough for us. If ever we are led 
beyond it, it should be only to plead and support 
the cause of the poor, the fatherless, and the widow. 
To turn the attention of our people, as much as we 



72 LECTURE Vllt 

can, to the one thing needful, is our great concern, 
For this purpose, we should study their different cha- 
racters, and be well acquainted with passages of scrip- 
ture suited to the various ages, relations, and cir- 
cumstances of life ; so as to have a word in season 
for persons of every denomination ; and something 
suitable to say to every one of our people, with 
whom we have an opportunity of meeting or hold- 
ing any conversation. In the happy skill of making 
a dextrous use of every such opportunity, consists 
much of that aptness to teach, which the apostle sets 
down as one of the qualifications of every good and 
faithful pastor. 

We are seldom aware how much good or evil 
there may be in our ordinary conversation. It is 
generally a savour of life or death to our people. 
When we preach, we only do what all clergymen, 
whether good or bad, are bound to do ; and there- 
fore we may be considered by many as only going 
through a piece of form. But if our conversation, 
like our preaching, be good for the use of edifuing % 
and minister grace to the hearers, it will yield it's fruit 
unto holiness, and awaken souls to a sense of piety 
and religion. For it is by our life and ordinary dis- 
course, and not by our sermons, that men will judge 
of us. And as we are consecrated to God and reli- 
gion, as much, at least, as the churches and altars at 
which we serve, idle and ordinary discourse would 
profane us, as much as churches and altars would be 
profaned, if applied to ordinary uses ; and then what 
could we expect but that the spirit of God should be 
grieved*, and leave our temple desolate. Let us, 
therefore, look well to ourselves, and see that our con- 

* See Eph. iv. 29, 30. Where, it is clear, that, by the 
conversation that does not edify, and does not minister 
grace to the hearers, we griere the Holy Spirit. 



Versation, as Well as our sermons, May always tend 
to edify. 

The children, especially, demand our particular no- 
tice ; and to edify then! should be one great end of 
our conversation. To children the great Shepherd 
of the sheep himself paid the utmost regard, and, in 
the most endearing manner, recommended them to 
us. Feed my lambs. A matter that was marked with 
such importance by our Lord, may well demand our 
attention. Yes, my brethren, the nurture of the 
young is a sacred charge, of which God will one day 
require an account. Children are tender plants, 
which the great Master of the vineyard hath particu- 
larly enjoined us to cultivate ; and which we should, 
therefore, endeavour, with all possible care, to rear. 
Childhood and early youth alone are the proper sea- 
son of instruction, for those especially of the lower 
<ilass, who make the bulk of mankind. Once they 
are advanced in years, the toils and cares of lrfe leave 
them no leisure for improvement in knowledge ; and, 
with respect to those in more opulent circumstances, 
ihey will not then submit to our teaching. At any 
rate, religious impressions never take such a strong 
hold of the mind as when they are made in the ear- 
lier years of life. The habits acquired in that period, 
be they virtuous or vicious, are most likely to adhere 
to us till death, and to follow us to eternity. Hence 
the urgent necessity of every possible care to instil 
good principles early into the minds of children*. And 
the necessity upon us is by so much the greater as pa- 
rents are the more negligent. Ah ! poor lambs ! capa- 
ble of becoming angels, what must become of you, if 
both parents and pastors neglect their duty ? If they 
do not train you up in the way in which you should go, 
how can they expect that, when you are old, you 
will find it ? 

* Quo semel est irabuta recent scryabit odorem 
Testa cliu. Horace, 

L 



T4 CEcwks vftf: 

Wc, therefore, my brethren, must improve tli£ 
Seed-time, otherwise we lose the hope of the harvest. 
On our diligence in this depends, not only the success 
of our own ministry, but that of our successors in 
other generations. If, after baptising children into 
tfie faith, we then neglect them, we act the part of 
that barbarous parent, who instead of nourishing the 
child that is born to him, cruelly exposes him in the 
waste and howling wilderness. Nay, in as much as 
the soul excels the body, our cruelty exceeds that of 
such a monster, if we neglect this part of the trust re- 
posed in us. 

If we neglect to train the children properly at firs?, 
,jio future care can atone for such a crime. How 
can you build the house of which you never laid the 
foundation ? Take no timely precaution against the 
contagion to which youth is exposed, and no future? 
care will cure the malady. Once they are growi* 
men, they will never submit again to become chil- 
dren. So sensible of this were the wise Lacedemo- 
nians, that, when they were required to give fifty 
children as hostages, they chose rather to give fifty 
of the most eminent men in the state, whose princi- 
ples -Were already formed, than children, to whom 
the want of early instruction would be a loss altoge- 
ther irreparable. It would be, according to the beau- 
tiful expression of Pericles, like cutting off the season 
of Spring altogether from the year. 

Let us then descend often to the capacity of chil- 
dren. Let us employ them, as much as possible, in 
storing their memory with the maxims of piety, with 
passages of scripture, with psalms, and hymns, and 
prayers ; and give them, if we can, from time to 
time, some small present of this kind to secure their 
diligence. Early habits of diligence and application 
will be of great account to them in passing through 
the present world, as well as in preparing them for 
another. By this means, they learn in time to civ 



LECTURE VIII. 75 

counter any difficulty, from the habit of surmounting 
hardships. Let us therefore be careful to impose 
tasks upon them. Let us be zealous to instruct them. 
It may not be long (as we and they are stepping off) 
that we shall have it in our power to do them any 
service ; or, if it should, the task will be daily grow 
ing more difficult. Can the Ethiopian change his hue, 
or the kopard his spots ? then may they Learn to do 
good tvho have been long accustomed to do evil.— 
What should recommend this duty to us more espe- 
cially is, that, in this part of our labour, we have 
most probability ofsuccess, and least danger of be- 
ing infected ourselves. For of this danger \ye run no 
little risk, when we mix with the grown up, on whom 
the leprosy of sin may have already come to such a 
height as to render the disease extremely dangerous ta 
others, as well as to themselves. 

Be it our serious care, then, to embrace every op- 
portunity of training up the young in the knowledge 
of God, and in the love and practice of religion ; 
urging the parents to join us, and assuring them that 
their own happiness or misery must depend on the 
education of their children in virtue and piety. " If 
" you wish to be a saint, " says the sacred book of 
the Persians, " give good instruction to your chil- 
" dren ; for their virtuous actions will be imputed 
u to you." Nay, we may assure them, that, gene- 
rally, even in the present world, their families must 
rise or fall in proportion as their children are virtu- 
ous or vicious. — An object of such magnitude, there- 
fore, demands our early and continued attention. 
When they are yet babes, let us give them the milk 
of the word, — the first plain rudiments of religion. 
Let us give them stronger meat when they are able 
to receive it. Let us instruct them, let us coniirm 
them, and never lose sight of them, nor suffer early 
impressions to wear off; but improve them to settled 
habits of piety and virtue .and lead them to ratify 



+7b LECTURE VIIL 

their covenant with God, by their own personal deed, 
in the holy communion. 

Such, my brethren, should be the constant tenor 
of our conversation, and such, especially, our care to 
inculcate early piety. For, if it be the duty of every 
christian to take heed that nothing proceed out of /lis. 
mouth, bid what is good for edification, that it may 
minister grace to the hearers, what shall become of 
that minister of the gospel who does not take still 
greater heed to his duty, which, like every other, is 
more peculiarly binding upon him*? — Yes, my 
brethren, if all the rest of the world should have their 
conversation, some of earth, and some, perhaps of 
hell, our conversation should always be, as much as 
possible, in heaven. Propriety of character requires, 
this of the followers and ambassadors of Jesus, and 
practice w T ould make it soon sit easy on us, and 
familiarise us to sublime ideas and heavenly senti- 
ments. 

The art of giving a spiritual and heavenly turn to 
conversation, and of improving every subject to our 
advancement in holiness and virtue, is best learned 
from our Saviour's discourses recorded in the gospels, 
where we meet, on every proper occasion, with the 
most beautiful examples of it. There, how natural 
and easy the transition from things earthly to things 
heavenly ; from the meat that perisheth to that which 
en dure th to eternal life ; from the water of the well 
of Jacob to those living waters, of which he who 
drinketh shall never be at hirst again ! There, we meet 
with nothing forced, nothing strained, nothing un- 
suitable to the occasion, or to the nature of the com- 
pany. For our Lord, in this, as in every thing else^ 
exemplified his own precept, of not casting pearls be- 
fore swine ; and taught us, that our speech should 
not only be good, but also suitable and well timed 

* Inter gecularcs niiga^ in ore sacerdotis blasphemiae.— • 

Bernard* 



LECTURE yjll. 7T 

~And did we, my brethren, endeavour always ta 
imitate the example of his conversation, we should 
soon find our progress in holiness to be vastly more 
than we looked for, and at length arrive at a degree 
of it which few attain, because few attempt it. — That 
we have a moral capacity for such exalted improve- 
ment is plain from the example of those who, in this 
and many other parts of our duty, attained to a de- 
gree of perfection, which to some, may appear hard- 
ly credible. In proof of this, I will not go back to 
patriarchs or prophets, martyrs or apostles, who^may 
be supposed to have had the aids of divine grace, in 
a more peculiar and extraordinary measure. I will 
only repeat the character which an intimate acquaint- 
ance of his gave of a truly eminent pastor of the 
last age ; of u a bishop (as he says) that had the 
" greatest elevation of soul, the largest compass of 
" knowledge, the most mortified, and most heavenly 
^ disposition that I ever yet saw in mortal ;_that 
" had the greatest parts, as well as virtues, with the 
" most perfect humility that I ever saw in man ; — . 
" that had so sublime a strain in preaching, with so 
*■ grave a gesture, and such a majesty of thought, 
" of language, and of pronunciation, that I never 
" once saw a wandering eye where he preached, and 
" have seen whole assemblies often melt in tears be- 
" fore him : And of whom J can say, with great 
" truth, that in a free and frequent conversation with 
a him for above two and twenty years, I never knew 

" HIM SAY AN IDLE WORD, OR THAT HAD NOT A DI- 

# rect tendency to edification : And I never 
" once saw him in any other temper, but that which 
" I wished to be in in the last minutes of my life*." 
What may not our earnest endeavours accomplish 
in those matters in which we are sure the grace of 
God will aid us ! 

* Character of Abp. Leighton a in Burnet's Pastoral Care, 



LECTURE IX 

Thai a Marnier of the Gospel should &<d a hohj Ex- 
ample to his Peojile. 

IT is not by our conversation and sermons only, 
jny brethren, that we must edify our people: — Our 
example should always and uniformly preach to 
them. The generality of mankind are better judges 
of our example than of our sermons, and are apt 
to form their notion of the gospel from our lives,, 
and of holiness from oitr example. A good exam- 
ple is so necessary to gain weight and credit to our 
sermons, that they have seldom any success without 
it. Our hearers, it would seem, make little account 
of our speaking well for an hour, in comparison of 
our living well for a week*. Our example, therefore, 
is the evidence of our sincerity, and the main sup- 
port of our sermons. In vain do we teach others 
the duties of religion, if we neglect them ourselves. 
When our practice contradicts our precepts, we hin- 
der the salvation of our own souls, and prove a snare 
to the souls of our people. We cannot, indeed, with 
any grace, reprove in them what we tolerate in our- 
selves : nor urge them to practise what we ourselves 
neglect. If we should, our labour would be lost ; 
for who would observe the precepts which the preach- 
er disregards, or believe the doctrines which his own 
life seems to discredit ? 

* " The voice 



t( Is but an instrument, on which the priest 
" May play what tune he pleases. In the deed, 
si The unequivocal authentic deed, 
**' We find sound argument ; we read the heart/* 

eowPER, 



LECTURE tXl 79 

Should we, my brethren, keep even free from 
vice, this, for us, would be but little praise. We 
should be patterns of the strictest holiness and virtue. 
We should keep at such a distance, if posible from 
breaking the law, that, as the rabbies speak, " we 

* should not touch even the hedge that guards it." 
We should, with the severest jealousy, watch over 
every part of our conduct ; and* with the most scru- 
pulous punctuality, practise every atom of duty. 
We should abstain not only from evil, but from the 
very appearance of it ; and sometimes deny ourselves 
that liberty, which conscience, perhaps, allows, if 
the indulgence would offend a weak brother, and ob- 
struct our usefulness. We should even exceed the 
highest measure of holiness which we propose to our 
people, or which we wish them to possess : For, 
whatever we are, they will think they may safely fall 
short of it by many degrees ; so exalted are the no- 
tions which are generally formed of ministerial sanc- 
tity. 

A good example is so essential to the priesthood, 
that every religion, false or true, supposes and re- 
quires it. " He who exhorts men to repentance," 
says the Sadder, or sacred book of the Magi, " should 
" be without sin. He should be zealous, and his 
H zeal candid and void of deceit. He should be of 
u a kind temper, with a soul susceptible of friend- 
il ship, and his heart and his tongue should always 
a agree. He is to keep himself from all debauch- 
4i ery, from all injustice, and from all sin of any 

* kind. He should be a pattern of goodness and 
"justice to the people of God." In the Greek and 
Roman religions, in like manner, the last and great 
injunction given to all who were initiated into the 
sacred mysteries, was, " Watch and abstain from 

* evil," 

A good example is of so much consequence, that 
the emperor Julian thought he could mab the false 



SO Lecture ix. 

religion preVail over the true, if he could only bring 
the pagan priests to be holy and exemplary in their 
conduct. Accounting, as he declares, the strictness 
and sanctity, professed by christians, to be a principal 
cause of the prevalence of their faith, he gives direc- 
tions, " that the heathen priests be men of serious 
" tempers and deportments ; that they neither utter, 
€< nor hear, nor read, nor think of any thing licen 
" tious or indecent ; that they banish from them all 
"jests and libertine conversation ;■ be neither expen^ 
" sive nor showish in their apparel ; go to no enter - 
" tainment, but such as are made by the worthiest 
u persons ; frequent no taverns ; appear but seldom 
" in places of concourse ; never be seen at the pub 
" lie games or shows ; and take care that their wives, 
" children, and servants, be pious, as well as them- 
ie selves." — " The exercise of their sacred functions 
u (says he) requires an immaculate purity, both of 
" mind and body ; and even when they return from 
"the temple to any occupation or intercourse of 
" common life, it is incumbent on them to excel, 
" in decency and virtue, the rest of mankind. Their 
" humility should appear in the plainness of their 
" domestic garb ; their dignity in the pomp of holy 
" vestments. A priest of the gods should never be 
" seen in theatres or taverns. His conversation should 
4i be holy, his diet temperate, his friends of honour- 
" able reputation, and his studies should be suited to 
" the sanctity of his profession*." 

These are the means by which Julian hoped t& 
make his favourite religion prosper ; and it is certain 
that no religion whatever can prosper without them. 
For a good example is so nearly allied to the power 
of persuasion, that it is a miracle of grace if one soul 
is saved under a wicked minister. A wicked minis- 

* See Julian's Epist. passim ; — Archbisjiop Seeker's Se- 
cond Charge ; — and Gibbon's Hist, 



LECTURE i% Si 

t'er is a curse to liis flock, and more fatal than fam- 
ine, pestilence, or sword, or any other calamity with 
which God, in his wrath, visits mankind. On the 
other hand, a faithful and holy minister* Who, like 
the star of Bethlehem, not only lights, but leads his 
people to Jesus, is one of the greatest blessings which 
God bestows on men. Such a minister, personating 
and resembling the great Saviour of souls, carries on 
the work of redemption as a fellow-worker* with 
Christ, and becomes the instrument of completing 
his designs of mercy, and purposes of love, to Ihet 
souls of which he has the charge. Such a one is, iri 
SOTrte measure, here below, the shepherd and the 
saviour of his people ; and, when the great -shepherd 
shall appear, and ask of him an account of his 
charge, he can with joy come before him, with the 
souls which he has been the instrument of saving, 
and say, Behold me, and the children which God hafji 
given me. 

A good minister, I repeat it, is a fellow-worker 
with God in the salvation of souls. But a minister, 
unworthy of this august name, has an equal right to 
t)e called a fellow-worker with Satan in destroying 
mankind. And here, my brethren, I speak not 6i* 
ministers given to grass vice, or great enormity, ii 
such there be. The character of these, were they 
guilty but of one glaring trespass against the laws of 
truth, temperance, or chastit}^, is confessedly blasted. 
I speak only of those who are cold or lukewarm, in- 
dolent or earthly ; of those who are given to levity 
in behaviour, talk, or appearance ; of those who are 
at no pains to call forth the spirit of their office, by 
study, prayer, meditation, and self-denial ; of those, 
who make a fashion of going through the duties of 
their function, without zeal, earnestness, or uncti- 
on*, and therefore without success ; of those, who 

* " Gravity and warmth united, form that character of 
f 1 preaching, which the French call diction ,• the affecting, pen- 

M 



LECTURE rf. 

deliver the most awful truths of the gospel wtikiiw 
same coldness and insensibility with which they 
would speak of ordinary matters, and whose lives* 
want that character of piety, which only could stamp 
a value on their sermons : For sermons have no ef- 
fect when the preacher has no piety. His words, 
like arrows shot from a bow which has no elasticity, 
fall short of the mark, ineffectual and feeble. The 
coldness of his heart freezes, as it were, his languor 2 ; 
and he cannot possibly kindle in the hearts of others 
that love to God, and zeal for his service of which 
there is not a spark in his own. If his sermons awa- 
ken any remorse in his hearers, his example will 
immediately.allay it and give them a peace which con- 
science would not allow them, When they see their 
morals so much resemble those of their minister, they 
will suppose themselves in no danger ; or perhaps- 
believe that there is nothing serious in those duties 
of religion which it's ministers themselves neglect or 
despise. Thus, perhaps, thousands of unhappy souls 
who have gone before us, and who are now in the 
place of torment, eternally shut out from happiness 
and from hope, owe their ruin to those ministers un- 
der whom they lived. And perhaps, (I utter it with 
trembling !) perhaps some of the souls under our mi- 
nistry may find themselves there by and bye, and 
owe their ruin to the like bad and careless example 
received from us. That stream which deludes the 
people of God, may proceed sometimes from the, 
bottom of the sanctuary. That flood of profaneness 
which overflows the land, may spring sometimes/rowi 
if s prophets*. Yes my brethren, the fate of thou- 

" etrating, interesting manner, flowing from a strong sensibi- 

v> lifcy of hea.rt in the preacher to the importance of those 

' truths which he delivers,. and an earnest desire that they 

*may make a full impression on the hearts of his hearers. 3 '*' 

Dr.'Blalb^ Lect. cm Rh£Ja 
# Jer. xxiii. 15 



LECTURE IX. 83 

sands of souls is annexed to ours. We are always 
set for the rise or fall of many in Israel. We are, as 
it were, pillars in the house of our God, and if these 
•at any time fail, the superstructure must fall of course, 
A good and holy example is the first duty of a 
pastor. Without this, his labour, in every other re- 
spect, is lost. Like those on whom Moses pronoun- 
ces a part of his curse *', he sows, but shall not reap ; 
he waters without seeing the increase. He may carry 
much seed out into the field, but he shall gather lit- 
tle in. He may plant vineyards, and dress them, 
but he shall neither drink of the wine, nor gather the 
grapes. The sacred field under his care is cursed 
with bearing only thorns and briers. Unhappy the 
people to whom God, in his wrath, gives such a pa 
tor ! They can neither be roused by his sermons, 
guided by his example, nor edified by his conversa- 
tion. Unhappy the pastor, who becomes thus the 
tempter and destroyer of those souls whom he ought, 
to be instrumental in saving ! His superior know 
ledge, when he does not live according to it, will 
only serve to aggravate his condemnation. He bears 
the torch, and yet he himself loses the way. He is 
raised in the temple of God (but like the man of sin 
spoken of by the apostle), instead of serving him, he 
wars against him. And then how is the name of 
God blasphemed ! how is religion reproached, *tnd 
Jesus wounded in the house oj his friends ! 

Our saviour tells us, that whosoever shall offend 
even one of the least of his followers, it were better 
for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck, 
and that he were drowned in the depth of tlie sea. 
How impossible is it, then, for that minister of the 
gospel to escape the heaviest condemnation, whose 
careless or faulty example must offend , perhaps ruin, 
•many 9 Even that which in others might be pardon- 

*Deut. xxyiii, 38, / 



84 LECTURE IX. 

able, is in him highly aggravated. Others might 
plead that they did not hear the trumpet ; but it was 
his business to sound it * ; and, therefore if tempted, 
or even surprised into sin, he can neither excuse the 
fault, nor, without speedy repentance, dare he hope 
to elude the punishment. And, heavens ! who can 
conceive what that punishment must be, when the 
offence is so very heinous ? Who can describe that 
sorer punishment of which he. may be thought worthy, 
who, teaching others, teacheth not himself, but, 
through breaking the law, dishonoureth God I 

In the Levitical law t, it is required, that the sa*- 
crifice for the sin of a priest should be no less than 
was offered for the whole congregation, who, at that 
tiiue, may have been two millions of souls in num- 
ber. And who knows but God may exact for the 
sin of a priest, (as this seems but too plainly to inti^ 
mate) a punishment, as he did a sacrifice, equal to 
what may be inflicted on a whole congregation ? One 
dares not think that any less may be implied in the 
law just now referred to. How holy, how exem- 
plary, then, should be the life of a minister of the 
gospel ! On every thing he says or does, should be 
inscribed, holiness unto the lord. "His soul 
"should be purer than the rays of the sun t," and 
he should walk among men as an angel of heaven. 

The very heathens, poor and low as their notions 
of God and religion were, had (as we hinted already) 
*o high an idea of the sanctity of their priesthood, 
that the strictest and most exemplary regularity 
was expected from their sacred order. And such 
persons as assumed the priestly character, knowing 
that from them a more than ordinary degree of vir- 
tue was expected and recjuired, did, from that mo- 
ment, consider themselves as bound to excel the rest 

,, ■ ■■■,.. i . | M . ii ■ <, ^_ 

* Ezek. xxxiii. 3. f Lev. ix. 3. U. 

■$ Cfcr^fost. de $acer& 



LECTURE IX. $5 

of mankind. The speech, which an ancient tragic 
poet puts in the mouth of one of them, nray give the 
blush to many a minister of the gospel of Jesus. 
** Since I became a priest of Idean Jupiter (says he) 
' ; I have kept all my garments pure and spotless, 
* '•? and I hold myself above the ordinary converse 
«' and condfUct of mortal men*." 

If such, my brethren, were the sentiments of a 
priest of Idean Jove, what should be those of the 
minister of the great Jehovah ! How pure, how ho~ 
ly, how exalted, almost to a proximity with the per- 
fect angels ! And as we, my brethren, bear this char- 
acter, how cautiously should we guard against even 
the appearance of evil* and especially against every 
real fault ? The sins of wicked men call for the ven- 
geance of heaven, but those of a wicked minister, like 
that of the murderer of Cain, for a vengeance seven- 
fold. — And, by wicked ministers (I must again repeat 
it) , I mean not such as the world generally calls by 
that name : I mean only such as are cold, or careless, 
or lukewarm, or worldly ; who, if they have no posi- 
tive vice or crime, have as little zeal or piety ; who, 
if they do n-ot love pleasure, do as little love heavenly 
conversation, prayer, meditation, and studyf . — Yes, 
my brethren, in a mjnaster, not to be pious, is to be 
wicked ; not to excite to virtue, is to encourage vice ; 
not to confirm, by his example, the doctrine which he 
preaches, is to deny the faith ; and, in a word, not 
\o be more holy than other men, is to be the curse, 
of his people, the disgrace of his office, and the ene- 
my of his God, Their having neglected to do good, 
more than their having done evil, may be, one day, 
the condemnation of most ministers. The idle ser- 
vant is, by the gospel, sentenced to the same torments 

E| a Aior ifitznt /xupw 
~Eysvo(jm, rza.v'Kivy.a, ySfxtxTi^ 

PoftPHYR. ciy. ex Eujt*j*. 
t Vid. Massiloc, pas&iiri. 



86 LECTURE IJt. 

with the unfaithful. — And if even the bare absence 
of zeal and piety be thus punished in a minister, 
what treasures of wrath must await the unhappy ser- 
vant who is positively evil ! Our saviour himself 
seems to be at a loss for lanoua^e strong enough to 
express the terrible fate of such a minister. His mas- 
ter A says he, will — what will he? — reprove, or beat, 
£>r scourge him ? — no, but cut him asunder ! 

Remember the history of the sons of Eli : From 
that, it would appear, that God has scarce any pun* 
ishment adequate to the crimes of ministers. And if 
he thus punished the profaners of the blood of bulk 
and goats, what shall he do, or rather, what shall 
he not do, to the profaners of the blood of his 
Son? 

In scripture, we find careless and corrupt past ors- 
the greatest curse which God at any time sent upon 
a sinful people*. The lesser crimes of the Jews are 
punished with raising up kings against kings, and na- 
tion against nation ; with reversing the order of the 
seasons ; with barrenness of land, famine, pestilence, 
and sword. But when their crimes were at the 
highest, and God's wrath at the hottest; when wea- 
ry, as it were, with chastening them, he asks, ic7??/ 
should ye be stricken anv more, or wherewith shall 
I strike you any moret? what last mark shall I give 
of my displeasure ? Then, as we find from the sequel, 
he draws forth from his stores of wrath unfaithful 
ministers, wicked and corrupt pastors, shepherds who 
fed themselves and not thejlock ; who did not strength-. 
en the diseased, nor heal the sick, nor bind that which 
was broken; who did not seek the lost, nor bring again 
that which was driven away\. — And if there be any 
of us, my brethren, to whom this character will ap- 
ply, such may fear, that they are sent by God, as 
, — . _ — _ — •« 

* Massilon. f Isaiah i. 5, 

1 Ezek. xxxiv. and Zech. xi, 16. 



LECTtffeE TgL 87 

one of the first plagues, for one of the worst ages of 
the world. For, in the New as well as in the Old 
Testament, false, corrupt, and covetous teachers, are 
pome bv the plagues and signs of the worst and last 
lime:?*. And; indeed, what worse calamity can be- 
ta! a people, than to hare a careless, not to say a cor- 
rupt, minister ? Other plagues extend only to the 
body, but this takes in, not only the body, but the 
soul. Other calamities are limited oy time, bnf the 
consequence of this extends to eternity ; for careless 
and wicked ministers are seldom or never honoured 
to be the instruments of saving souls. Like the 
scribes and pharisees of old, they neither* go into hea- 
ven themselves, nor suffer them that are entering to 
go in. They are a stone of stumbling and offence in 
the threshold, on which thousands of unhappy souls 
mast fall and perish. Unhappy that people ! and woe 
k> that pastor! although some of his people, by the 
uncommon grace of God, should be saved. 

You see then, my brethren, what manner of per- 
sons we ought to be; how holy in life and conversation. 
On this our usefulness here, and our happiness here- 
after, our own souls, and those of others, are de- 
pending. Let us, therefore, take heed to ourselves, 
and walk in the steps of our Master. Let our lives 
be such a copy of his, that men may say of each of 
us, " He is a fair, though faint image of his Master; 
64 from this man's life I can conceive how Jesus liv- 
t( ed." — As our Master was holy, harmless, and un~ 
defiled, so should we, as far as our imperfect nature 
will allow. To this attainment let us bend our chief 
attention ; for whether we regard our own salvation, 
or the success of our ministry, this demands our first 
care. Let us remember, that the chief glory and 
happiness of every creature depends on the measure 
he attains of moral excellence ; as, indeed, the chief 

* % Pet. ii. 10. 2: Tim, \\\ %. &c, 



S8 liEtTtJRE IX. 

glory and perfect blessedness of God himself, mqgt 
arise from his possessing this excellence in infinite 
perfection. It is this that peculiarly challenges the 
love, esteem, and confidence of his rational offspring : 
and our love, esteem, and usefulness among our 
people, will be in proportion to the measure we pos- 
sess of the same excellence. This, in a word, is the 
basis of all our present and future happiness. — And 
to excite us to this holiness of life, and excellence of 
character, we must look, not to the world around 
us, but to God, to angels, and the other inhabitants 
of heaven. We must look to the highest precepts of 
the gospel, and copy the life of our High Priest and 
pattern. We must think how the apostles* and other 
faithful preachers, lived ; and how departed ministers 
would live again, if they were to act their part in life 
a second time. We must study, seek, and practise 
all possible ways of doing, and of being good ; de* 
vote our life to the faithful discharge of our office, 
and to the practice of self-denial and humility, of cha- 
rity and devotion.— Finally, brethren, whatsoever 
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, what- 
soever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, 
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things ara 
of good report ; if there be ctny virtue, and if there 
be any praise, think on these things, and do them, 
Be, as you eught, the example of your flocks, and 
the guides of your people. For you are the light 
of the world, and if you burn but dimly, the peo- 
ple may wander and be lost. If the pharos will not 
shine, hpw can tire voyagers find the harbtfur ? 






Il 



LECTURE X. 

That a Minister of the Gospel should be Meek and 

Lowly. 

LEARN of me, said our Saviour, for I am meek 
and lowly. — Of all the graces which he, who was 
perfection itself, possessed, meekness and lowliness 
are those for which he proposes himself more pecu- 
liarly as the examplar and pattern of his followers. 
Nothing could give us a higher idea of the great ex- 
cellency and importance of the christian graces, and 
of their indispensible necessity to all his disciples, at 
all times, and in all conditions. But most of all are 
they necessary to ministers of the gospel, who should 
be altogether mortified to passion and to pride. For 
we, my brethren, not only live like ordinary christi- 
ans, in a world of trouble and temptation, and, like 
them, have frequent occasion to converse with men 
of corrupt natures and perverse dispositions, but our 
duty calls us, moreover, to the difficult task of re- 
proving and reforming them. And, in doing this, 
however cautious and prudent our conduct, we must 
often lay our account with censure and reproach, 
with provocation and opposition It avails not that 
we love and serve their souls ; they will, notwith- 
standing, be disposed to abuse and hurt us. It avails 
not that we study and pray for them as dear chil- 
dren ; this is the return which we must often look 
for. And this we must bear with all patience and 
meekness, as the physician bears the injuries and in- 
sults of a patient who is disordered in his judgment*. 

* Sicut medicus rjon a cur a insani desistit etsi, &c. sic 
concionator, &c, — Chfysost. 

N 



90 LECTURE X. 

Yes, my brethren, we have to do with sinners, and 
must not expect to gather grapes from thorns, nor 
figs from thistles. Offences must come : and, when 
they do come, it is our business to look to him who 
endureth the contradiction of sinners against himself, 
and to learn, from his example, to meet every pro- 
vocation in the spirit of meekness. It is our busi- 
ness to be slow to wrath, unwilling to resent, patient 
to bear, and ready to forgive all affronts and injuries 
whatever. Tlie servant of the Lord must not strive, 
but be gentle unto all men, in meekness instructing those 
that oppose themselves. He must cease from anger, 
and forsake wrath, and fret not himself in any wise. 
If he does, he gives the adversary a dreadful advan- 
tage over him, and will soon find, that losing his 
temper is losing the victory. 

On the other hand, if he is possessed of meekness, 
andean, under every provocation, maintain a calm 
and placid temper, which will never allow passion to 
prevent the exercise of benevolence, he may, in time, 
subdue the most stubborn malice of his foes, as well 
as secure the general approbation and regard of 
others. And should he not even be free from faults, 
this temper will go far to hide them. For meekness, 
like charity, will serve to cover a multitude of sins, 
from which we tr.rn away our eye to view the better 
side of the character. Thus, in the following in- 
stance of the meekness of the son of Ali, we forget 
all his faults ; we ah lost forget he is an infidel ; when, 
in the moment of provocation, we see him hold, in 
a harmless hand, the bloody scimitar of Mahomet, 
One of his slaves had carelessly allowed a dish of 
scalding broth to drop on him. The wretch fell pros- 
trate to deprecate his punishment, and repeated a 
verse from the Koran : '• Paradise is for those who 
" command their anger . ?? " I am not angry." 
" And for those who pardon offences." " I pardon 
* your offence^ " And for those who return good 



LECTURE X. 91 

* for evil." " I give you your liberty, and a thou- 
" sand pieces of silver." 

But though a minister should thus make every sa- 
crifice to meekness and the love of peace which con • 
science will allow, yet, sometimes, while men have 
vicious passions and inclinations to be thwarted, his 
duty may call upon him to contend. If, even then, 
however, he fights with other weapons than those 
of his own warfare, he acts no less contrary to pru- 
dence than to duty. Therefore the archangel Mi- 
chael, when contending with the devil, durst not 
bring against him a railing accusation. And, indeed, 
if he had, could not with such weapons, expect to 
overcome him. At any rate, what good man or an- 
gel would choose to contend for such a victory ? Let 
us rather contend, my brethren, who shall always 
maintain the meekest frame of spirit : And let us re- 
member, that we can never be happy in ourselves, 
no? useful to our people, that we can never discharge 
our duty with fidelity, bear our trials with patience, 
nor overcome them with fortitude, unless we are 
possessed of meekness. Without this, especially, 
we can no more receive the influences of the Divine 
Spirit, than the lake can receive and reflect the 
beams of the sun when it is not serene and peaceful. 

A meek and lowly temper is so essential a part of 
our character, and so necessary a qualification for 
our office, that he who is not in a very high degree 
possessed of it, should have neither lot nor part in 
this matter. Hence one of the greatest ornaments 
of the ministry, St. Chrysostom, would have excused 
himself from entering on it, because he apprehended 
he had not that meekness and gentleness of mind 
which he thought necessary to prepare him for re- 
ceiving injuries, bearing insults, and treating even 
his enemies with mildness and love, as Christ had 
enjoined his followers. And yet how great a share 
of this virtue, as well as resignation to God, he pos- 



Q2 LECTURE X. 

sessed, appears from the account which he gives of 
himself when he was unjustly banished, and uncertain 
what punishment and misery might still await him. — 
" When I was banished from the city," says he, 
" and knew not what should be done to me, none 
" of these things moved me ; but I said within my- 
" self, If the queen will, let her banish me , the earth 
" is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. If she will, 
" let her saw me asunder ; Isaiah suffered the same 
" fate. If she will, let her cast me into the sea ; I 
" will remember Jonah. If she will, let her cast me 
" into a burning fiery furnace, or among wild beasts ; 
" the three children and Daniel were so dealt with. 
"If she will, let her stone me, or behead me ; I shall 
" then have St. Stephen or the Baptist for my blessed 
"companion. Or, if she will only deprive me of 
" all my substance, let her take it ; naked came I 
" out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I re- 
ctum thither*." 

When such a spirit deemed himself not meek 
enough for the sacred office, we may consider what 
a high degree of meekness that office requires. Who- 
ever, therefore, is not possessed of much of this hea- 
venly grace, and studious of more, ought not to en- 
ter on an office in which he is sure to meet with a 
thousand trials of temper, from which he might be 
exempt in any other line. In this office, a man of a 
peevish, hasty, and resentful spirit, is, like a flame 
that plays among combustibles, in danger every mo- 
ment of breaking? out and doing harm. He harms 
himself, others, and the cause of God. And, as a 
little smoke will darken the brightest object, so, if all 
the rest of a minister's life were clearer than the light 
of the sun, this alone would darken all, and make 
the rest be forgotten. The same allowances are in 
no case made for us as for other men. The Levites 

* Joannes exxrl, Cyriaco Episc. exuli Epist. 



LECTURE X. 03 

were not allowed to mourn for their dead relations ; 
to teach us how far we ought to rise above all the 
concerns of flesh and blood, and subdue the most 
excusable passions of human nature. But how much 
more ought we to rise above those that are faulty 
and hurtful ? Our minds should be like those upper 
regions, which are always serene and peaceful. They 
who take most latitude themselves, expect this from 
us ; as if we were a higher order of beings, ^hich, 
in some sense, indeed, we ought to be, considering 
how high our character is, and how sublime our 
hope. 

Yes, my brethren, all things considered, it is ab- 
solutely necessary that we should be able to possess 
our souls in patience, amid the tumult and the 
storm that rage around us ; covering ourselves, as in 
a coat of mail, with the ornament of a meek and quiet 
spirit. This only can render us invulnerable to the 
injuries and contradiction of sinners. Whereas, with- 
out it, the darts shot by the feeblest hands will wound 
us, and serve to embitter, by their numbers, all the 
hours of our life. Nor shall that life be long which 
is thus exposed to every flying shaft, and ruffled by 
every furious blast of a hasty spirit. To any man, 
the evil of such a spirit is dreadful. It will shake the 
constitution, waste the flesh, sour the temper, poison 
the spirits, bring on diseases, and hasten death. — 
But, to a minister, the evil is still greater. It will 
hurt his usefulness, degrade the sacred character, do 
harm to the souls of men, and prejudice the cause of 
God. For our own sake, therefore, for the sake of 
our order, and for the sake of our Master, we ought 
to cultivate, as we are required, a meek and lowly 
temper, and never be overcome with evil, but over* 
come evil with good. We ought to leave all anger, 
malice and revenge, to the children of this world ; 
and depart, on no pretence whatever, from the tem- 
per which becomes our character and office. — "You 



94 LECTURE X. 

" require of me,* 1 said a vestal or priestess of Athens 
to the magistrates of that city, " you require of me 
" to curse Alcibiades ; but I must tell you, that this 
" is inconsistent with my office, which allows me 
" only to bless and pray." 

As our temper, my brethren, ought not to be ruf- 
fled by any injuries or affronts offered to ourselves, 
so neither ought we to be transported into passion, 
or show any rancour, on account of what we may 
suppose an indignity offered to God. To avenge his 
cause by our lawless passions, would be to become 
partakers of other men's sins. The weapons of our 
warfare are not carnal, but spiritual. If the heresies 
and errors of men lead them to disturb the peace of 
society, it is the business of the civil magistrate to 
controul them. And if they should not, * it is bet- 
"ter (as the emperor Antonius observed) that the 
a gods themselves should punish them, than that we 
" should interfere, and do it." If God is offended, 
he needs not the aid of our sinful passions to revenge 
the wrong ; and the rash proffer would only incur 
his displeasure. When Peter drew the sword, he 
was checked ; when the two disciples offered to call 
for fire from heaven, they were sharply reproved ; 
and when Abraham (if I may be allowed to allude 
to a beautiful moral tale) turned the hoary sinner 
out of his house, the father of the faithful was re- 
buked, for not bearing, for one night, with him 
whom God had endured for nine score and eighteen 
years *. 

* ie And it came to pass, after these things, that Abraham 
'• sat in the door of his tent about the going down of the sun. 
•' And behold a man, bent with age, coming from the way 
" of the wilderness, leaning on a staff. And Abraham arose 
" and met him, and said unto him, Turn in, I pray thee, and 
" wash thy feet, and tarry all night, and thou shalt arise ear- 
r ' \y in the morning, and go on thy way. And the man said, 



LECTURE X. 95 

In recommending this temper, I cannot help re- 
marking a beautiful example of it in the exalted cha- 
racter of Father Paul, author of the History of the 
Council of Trent. Though this man passed a long 
life in religious controversy, which, from the appre- 
hended importance of the subject, is, of all contro- 
versies, the most exasperating, and though his life 
and reputation were perpetually attacked by every 
art that the bitterest enmity could invent, yet his 
writings, his life, and his heart, were perfectly free 
from every tint of a vindictive spirit. Entirely de- 
voted to the public cause, and to truth, he rose supe- 
rior to the spirit of the times, overlooked injuries, in- 
sults, and repeated attempts on his life, like a true 
disciple of the Master whom he served. 

In like manner, my brethren, if we would render 
acceptable service to God, it must be by adorning our 

" Nay, for I will abide under this tree. But Abraham pres- 
" sed him greatly ; so he turned, and they went into the tent 
** And Abraham baked unleavened bread, and they did eat a 
" And when Abraham saw that the man blessed not God, he 
'• said unto him, Wherefore do,st thou not worship the most 
•• high God, creator of heaven and earth ? And the man an- 
•* swered and said, 1 do not worship thy God, neither do I 
" call upon his name ; for I have made to myself a God, 
" which abideth always in mine house, and provideth me 
f ' with all things. And Abraham J s zeal was kindled against 
r< the man, and arose, and fell upon him, and drove him forth 
" with blows into the wilderness. And God called unto A- 
" braham, saying where is the stranger ? And Abraham an- 
" swered and said, Lord, he would not worship thee, neither 
" would he call upon thy name ; therefore have I driven him 
" out from before my face into the wilderness. And God 
" said, Have I not borne with him these hundred ninety and 
,f eight years, and nourished him, and clothed him, notwith- 
standing his rebellion against me; and could not thou, 

,r who art thyself a sinner, bear with him one night >" 

Franklin 



06 LECTURE X. 

profession with patience, forbearance, charity, and 
meekness. If, at any time, we discover a spirit of 
persecution, we, at the same time, discover that we 
have none of the spirit of Jesus, and that we have 
really as little pretension to wisdom as to innocence ; 
for persecution, instead of crushing, strengthens here- 
sy ; whereas, clemency always recommends the per- 
son or the cause that shews it. Seven thousand 
Persians were once taken captive by the Romans, 
and, according to the customs of a barbarous age, had 
no alternative but slavery or death. Acacius, bishop 
of Amida, boldly declaring *' that vases of gold and 
" silver are useless to a God who neither eats nor 
" drinks," sold the plate of his church, and employ- 
ed the price in the redemption of the seven thousand 
captives. He dressed their wounds with affectionate 
care, supplied their wants, blessed and dismissed 
them. Go, said he, tell your king, that this is the 
true spirit of that religion which he persecutes* The 
consequence was a very long truce, to which we 
may suppose the clemency of Acacius contributed 
no less than the arms of the Romans. 

Thus, my brethren, if we wish to overcome our 
own enemy, or him whom we deem an enemy to 
God, by clemency and meekness only may we hope 
to effect our purpose. If we cannot succeed by these 
means, all that remains is, for our own safety, to re- 
frain from their company and their communion. 
For, say that any one offends, yet where is our com- 
mission to punish ? since, happily for all, our Master 
hath reserved vengeance solely to himself, as his pe- 
culiar prerogative. Say that our fellow-creatures 
sin, should not we then remember our own trans- 
gressions, and learn to intercede with God for the 
pardon of theirs ? Or, say that they err, should we 
not learn, from our own ignorance, to pity, and, in 
the spirit of meekness, to teach them the better way ? 

* See Gibbon's Hist- ~ 



LECTUrtE 36 Qf 

What though they differ from us in their opinions, 
yet still they may be good and well-intentioned men. 
And since there are in heaven many mansions, if w©- 
are afraid we should not live happily together, let us 
allow (as we may be sure God will allow) some of 
them to the virtuous of every persuasion. In the 
important affair of salvation, we are sure that none 
would willingly be in a mistake j and if the error of 
a brother be involuntary and invincible, he may be 
pitied, but cannot surely be blamed. We ourselves, 
too, may be in the wrong, at least in part, and see 
many truths but through a glass darkly. Meekness, 
therefore, and mutual toleration, should make an es- 
sential part of our character, as ministers of mercy, 
and disciples of Jesus; and this would prove the 
strongest recommendation of ourselves and of our re- 
ligion* 

Three pilgrims, a Jew, a Christian, and a Mussul- 
man, set out from Cairo, w r ith a caravan, in order 
to cross the desart to Salem. For the first part of 
the journey they moved with the multitude, as a 
drop in the stream, almost without thinking whither 
they were going. But reflecting, at length, that 
they must perish if they missed the way, they began 
to cast an anxious look before them, and to explore 
the paths of the desart. In my opinion, said the Jew, 
we need not long hesitate about our route : Yonder, 
to the right, is the pillar set up by Moses, who, as 
everybody knows, conducted thousands in safety 
through this wilderness ; and our wisest course is to 
follow this land-mark, which he has set up to direct 
us. — It is true, said the Mussulman, Moses got safe- 
ly through this wilderness, but it was by a route 
which his firmest adherents must own to be extreme- 
ly difficult. For my own part, I prefer, by much, 
the path that was trod by the prophet of Mecca : it 
is distinctly marked by that pillar to the left, which 
has ever directed the steps of the faithful. — I amsor* 

O 



OS LECTURE X. 

ry to see both of you mistaken, said the Christian* 
the one recommending a road so tedious as to be 
now almost obsolete, and the other preferring a road 
in which there are so many pits and precipices, and 
in which the sabre has been so busy, that the steps 
are slippery with the blood of the murdered. The 
straight and only safe, as well as pleasant, road, is 
that which has been marked by Jesus, where yon- 
der midmost pillar rears it's head on high, and meets 
at a distance the eye of the pilgrim. Don't you per- 
ceive, right over it, the distant towers of Salem ? — I 
perceive them over the pillar on the right, said the 
Jew. — And I swear they are in a line with that 
on the left, said the Mussulman. — They disputed, 
they grew warm, they quarrelled ; each imagining 
that he could compel, by force, those whom he could 
not convince by reason. 

In this situation, they were overtaken by a vene- 
rable dervise, who, learning the cause of their differ- 
ence, thus addressed them : " Children, you are not 
" wise. Had you changed your places, your views, 
16 had also changed ; and, having seen the cause of 
" your misunderstanding, you had all been reconci- 
" led. Besides, the city of Salem is so great, that 
€i apart of it, like the horizon, may be seen over 
" each of the pillars ; and it is possible that thou- 
" sands, who took the direct line by each, havr~ 
cc found their way. For my own part, I have known 
4 ' many well meaning people who, having no oppor- 
f tunity of knowing any of these roads, took a dif- 
" ferent course from all, and I am far from doubt- 
" ing of their safety ; for that depends not only on 
" the way, but, in some measure, on the prudence 
" and care of the pilgrim. It is impossible, howc- 
" ver, that all these roads should be equally safe and 
" commodious, or that it should be a matter of in- 
" difference which of them is chosen. I have been 
-' considering them long, and comparing , the differ- 



LECTURE X, §9 

<: enfc accounts and charts of them, as every man 
u ought in a matter of such infinite moment. For 
" I hold no man is at liberty to take what way he 
" pleases, and hazard his life, without weighing the 
" evidence in favour of each, and using his reason 
u to enable him to make the wisest choice. I have 
<e done so with care, and my observations I give you, 
" The road by the pillar to the right was once the 
* best and safest in the world, but it has been for a 
" long time neglected, and is now much out of re- 
" pair. That by the left was at first extremely foul, 
V nor is it yet such as could be wished : it has, how* 
" ever, some things to recommend it. Five times a 
46 day the travellers are admonished by public criers, 
46 to pray for the guidance of heaven ; and all give 
" such punctual obedience, that they seem to emu- 
" late each other in piety. On this road, too, there 
ic is much accommodation for the weak anj| needy. 
" I dare not therefore reprobate, though 1 4>ity, all 
46 who choose it ; it is because they know no better 
*' path. — But the way by the midmost pillar is, in 
" every respect, the straightest, the safest, and the 
" most pleasant. On this road, at almost every step, 
u palm-trees shade, and fountains refresh the pilgrim : 
" And did they who enter upon it follow the direc- 
" tions inscribed upon the pillar and the chart with 
" which they are furnished, every other path would 
" soon be forsaken. But, instead of this, multitudes 
*' turn aside into bye-paths on the right and on the 
<; left, and, for some trifles which attract their notice, 
" forget to proceed on their journey. Even they 
" who remain on the road too often spend their 
u time in quarrels and contentions, almost equally 
" fatal ; some alleging that all ought to walk on 
" this side of the road, while others contend they 
" ought to walk on that ; some searching for the 
" track of this, and others of that predecessor, and 
" each alleging it is death to tread any other part 



it 



100 LECTURE X. 

'■ of that fair and beautiful road which is open be- 
• fore them. By these unhappy means, the im- 
: mense crowd which enters it, is perpetually thin- 
6 ned as it proceeds; and but the few, who study 
" only to be on the road, and to advance in it, reach 
" the end of the journey. This, you may perceive, 
a is the* way which I myself intend to pursue ; and 
" I intend to do it with all my might, keeping my 
i eye upon the chart, without searching for the track 
Ci of Peter, of Martin, or of John. If you can think 
" as I do, and come with me, it will give me plea- 
£i sure ; if not, we shall part in peace, for why 
u should we quarrel, or contend with any weapons 
but those of reason? And, indeed, when in our 
education, reading, habits of life, company and 
: constitution, there must be so much difference, 
ci how can it be expected that our opinions should 
" entirely be the same ? God knows our frame, and 
H knows that if any one of us had been in the 
ic place and circumstances of the other, he must, 
w perhaps, have had his opinions too. He knows that 
:i we all wish to take the course which is safest to 
a ourselves, and, of course, most pleasing to him, 
^ since none of us, I trust, would wilfully and know- 
" ingly run the hazard of perishing in the desart. — 
" Judge, therefore, my brethren, of each other's 
" conduct with candour. Let each be persuaded, in 
" his own mind, that he does what is best, and, 
" whatever road betakes, (after carefully examining 
*■'- and comparing them) keep bent on getting forward 
ii to the end of his journey. Then we may possibly 
Ci arrive, all of us in due -time, where we wish ; and 
'* talk of the difference of the roads when we meet at 
" Salem." 

Struck with the meekness of his temper, and the 
moderation of his sentiments, all the three, blushed 
for having quarrelled, and, by the way of the mid- 
most pillar, unanimously followed thedervise. 



LECTURE XL 



The same Subject continued,— Meekness and Lowli- 
ness of Mind. 



THE calm, meek, and dispassionate frame of mind, 
which I have been urging, is so essential to our cha 
racter, my brethren, that I cannot help recommend- 
ing it further, by calling your attention to rest on 
the vast benefits that attend it. Sufficient, indeed, 
are these to recommend it to the warmest regard of 
every attentive mind. Possessed of meekness, the ar- 
rogance and pride of men cannot hurt us ; their per- 
verse and peevish humours, and all the fruits of a 
bitter spirit, cannot harm us. Possessed of meek- 
ness, we secure the favour of the good, we conquer 
the malice of the bad, we bear the infirmities of the 
w r eak, and with all long-suffering teach the ignorant, 
Possessed of meekness, whatever be the provocation, 
we keep the quiet enjoyment of ourselves, and sup- 
press every thought that has a tendency to awaken 
our angry passions. In a w T ord, possessed of this 
grace, we derive most pleasure from all the enjoy- 
ments of life, and feel least pain from all it's evils ; 
and, after having thus inherited the earth, we have 
a principal qualification for being members of that 
glorious and blessed society above, of which Jesus, 
the great pattern of meekness, is the head and mas- 
ter. 

Meekness is further of excellent use in regulating; 
our deportment towards God, as w r ell as man ; as it 
enables us to acquiesce, and even to rejoice, in all the 
dispensations of heaven, and to maintain a calm, 



102 le(5ture xi. 

contented, and thankful frame of soul, under every 
visitation of providence, and in every commotion of 
nature. Thus, under the severest trials, Aaron held 
his peace, Eli bowed his head, and the Shunamite 
said, It is well. And thus, too, in circumstances of 
terror and alarm, other meek and holy men have 
always stood undaunted. As the hermit Oran sat 
one day at the door of his cell, over the village of 
Ara, he perceived the face of the heavens assume a ter- 
rible form, and looked up with a smile, in hopes of 
seeing the signs which are to precede the final judg- 
ment. The rains descended, the winds arose, the 
lightnings played, the thunder roared, and the earth- 
quake shook all the hills about him. The inhabi- 
tants of the village, apprehending the dissolution of 
nature, flocked around the holy man, in hopes of 
deriving security from his prayers, or consolation 
from his presence and from his counsel. They saw 
jpdth astonishment the serenity of his countenance, 
and stood about him in silence, while he thus calmly 
addressed them : " Terrible to me, as to you, would 
■" have been this rage of the elements, if my peace 
fi were not made with him who rules them. But 
" my soul is conformed to his> and waits his will in 

* the spirit of meekness. Go ye, my friends, and 
" learn the s*tme frame of mind, and then you will 

* rather confide in the goodness, than dread the 
" power, of your Maker. For, infinite as thy pow- 
iC er is, O my God, so is also thy goodness ; and the 
" meek may look for thy mercy." 

Such, my brethren, is the necessity and benefit of 
meekness ; and equally needful is that lowliness of 
mind which our Saviour recommends along with it. 
It is the true foundation of all union and intercourse 
between God and the soul of man. He dwellcth with 
the humble and contrite; he givcth grace to the hum" 
ble. If the heavens are the habitations of his glory, 
the humble heart is the habitation of his grace. 



LECTURE XI. 103 

Humility, my brethren, is highly becoming the 
nature of man, still more so the profession of a chris- 
tian, and niost of all the character of a minister of 
the gospel, whose office frequently leads him to con- 
template the holiness of God, and to meditate on his 
awful perfections. Such views have a natural ten- 
dency to fill him with self-abasement, and with a feel- 
ing conviction of his own ignorance, guilt, and mi- 
sery. So, when Isaiah heheld the stupendous glory 
of God, and saw his train fill the temple, he imme- 
diately cried out, " Woe is me, I am struck dumb : 
" for I am a man of unclean lips, and mine eyes 
" have seen the King, the Lord God of hosts." 

If, from the contemplation of the nature and per- 
fections of God, we turn our eyes upon ourselves, 
and consider the ignorance and guilt of our souls, of 
the feebleness and frailty of our bodies, what a hum, 
bling view must we have of ourselves ! How little do 
we know of matter or spirit, of God or of his works, 
of any thing within us or without us, save that our 
mind is dark, our soul polluted, and our body crush- 
ed before the very worm. Or, if we cast our eyes 
around us, and consider how transient and insignifi- 
cant, or even accidental, those circumstances are, in 
which the highest of mankind differ from the lowest, 
and examine the little influence they generally have 
on a man's real happiness, we shall soon perceive that 
there is very little cause, indeed, to be proud or vain 
of them. In every thing that is truly material, the 
confirmation of the soul, the fashion of the body, 
the exigencies of both, all mankind are altogether 
on a level. And if in any other thing worth the 
mentioning, they differ, that difference is small, and. 
of short continuance. At their birth and at their 
death, at least, the subject and the sovereign, the 
king and the beggar, are equal : and, to immortal, 
everlasting creatures, any momentary difference that 
«mi happen between these two points, is. not worth 



104 LECTURE xr. 

the minding. That an immortal being, walking In 
the narrow line which separates heaven from hell, 
should have his thoughts, for one moment, taken up 
with any such thing, is so melancholy a considera- 
tion, that it might serve of itself to humble the 
thoughts of any man, and to bring down his haughty 
looks*. 

By such meditations, therefore, let us cultivate 
humility,— -a virtue of the first excellence, and of the 
most indispensible obligation ; the first requisite in 
the profession of our religion, and the root from 
which all other graces naturally spring. For, as it 
implies a sense of our guilt and unworthiness, it leads 
us to repent and fear God ; as it implies a sense of our 
obligations to him, and our veneration of him, it 
leads to love, praise and adore him ; and as it im- 
plies the esteem of others better than ourselves, ifc 
leads to the duties of self-government, and to the per- 
formance of all relative duties. Nor does it lead to 
duty only, but also to honour. The man that hum 
bleth himself, his fellow creatures generally, his ma- 
ker always, delighteth to honour. The spirit of God 
will dwell with him, angels will visit and attend him, 
and the great Pattern of humility will patronize and 
bless him. 

He that exalteth himself shall be abased, but he that 
humbleth himself shall be exalted, was, of all otir Sa- 
viour's maxims, the oftenest repeated, and that which 
was most strongly inculcated by the significant em- 
blem of a little child, and by the still more expres- 
sive figure of his condescending to wash the feet of 
his disciples. The plainness, innocence, and simpli- 
city of children, is here required of us ; and a rea- 
dy and cheerful condescension to the meanest offices 
of benevolence to the meanest of our brethren. And 
with good reason is this humility so strongly enfor- 

. ,i i ... . > ■ 

* See Leechman'a Sermons. 



LECTURE -XI. 105 

ced, considering that no grace has a greater tenden- 
cy -to make us holy, and, of course, happy ; as no 
vice is more subversive of every thing that is good 
than pride. Should all the showers of heaven alight 
on the lofty mountain, they rest not there. They 
hasten from it's barren top to bless the valley with 
fertility and verdure. What the showers are to the 
valley, grace is to the lowly soul. It seeks to it, 
rests upon it, refreshes, beautifies, and makes it fruit- 
ful. And, if humility be thus useful and ornamen- 
tal to ordinary christians, it is much more so to a 
minister. The very name which he bears (for you 
know it means a servant) implies, that, without this 
grace he is unworthy of the title. 

Yes, my brethren, we are, without this grace, un- 
worthy of the name, and unqualified for the duties 
of our office. For our business is to lay ourselves 
out in serving our people in their truest interest, and 
in furthering the salvation of their souls. And, in 
doing this, we must have equal regard to all com- 
mitted to our care ; for we stand in the same rela- 
tion to them all. We should have no hatred but to 
vice, no prepossession but to virtue. Every other dis- 
tinction is vain and momentary ; and, however daz- 
zling to the children of the world, should be of no 
account with us, in whose eyes a vile man, however 
rich, should be contemned, and a holy man, however 
poor, should be esteemed and honoured. No other 
distinction is regarded by our Master, nor will any 
other hold in the world to which we hasten. The 
souls of the lowest are as dear to Jesus as those 
of the highest ; for he regardeth not the rich more than 
the poor. To us too, in our ministerial capacity, 
they ought to be the same. I charge thee, before God 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, says 
the apostle to Timothy, that thou observe these things, 
doing nothing by partiality. As men, or members of 
civil society, indeed, it becomes us to give, and to in- 

P 



106 



LECTURE XI-. 



culcate upon others to give, honour to whom honour, 
and fear to idiom fear is due, according to the subor- 
dination of ranks, which in this, and, probably, in all 
other worlds, must hokL But, as ministers/ having 
the cure of souls, we ought, I say, in our care and 
regard of those souls, to make no difference on ac- 
count of outward condition. Riches, rank, and ta- 
lents, are but the pitiful distinctions of a moment, and 
of no account in the sight of God, who regards only 
our measure of holiness and moral excellence. In 
other respects, all souls are, with him, rated at the 
same price, and ransomed alike by the precious blood 
of his dear Son. In our estimation, therefore, they 
should be held alike dear. When the humblest soul 
needs counsel or consolation, let him not be afraid 
to break in upon our study and retirement to ask 
it. # Let him not be afraid to make known his case 
to his pastor, nor doubt of finding in him a tender 
and sympathising friend ; one who will take a fa- 
therly concern in all his joys and sorrows, and to 
whom he may safely unbosom the most secret thoughts- 
of his soul. Let him be encouraged to come, in e- 
very time and place, and his visits held always sea- 
sonable and acceptable. So Jesus himself received 
Nicodemus, when he came by night. 

Thus, my brethren, let us neither reject tlie appli- 
cation of the afflicted, nor turn away our face from a 
poor man. Let us lend a tender ear to the doubts and 
fears of the young and' timid convert, and listen a- 
gain to the same complaint which we have formerly 
heard from the weak, though perhaps old, believer. 
If they are unwearied in asking, shall not webeun 

* Cura lit aditus ad te diurni atque nocturni pateant j 
nee foribus solum scdium tuarum, sed etiain vultu ac fronte, 
quae est an i mi jan ua ; quae, si significat voluntatem abditam 
esse ac retrusam, parvi refert patere ostium. Q. Cigero,<& 
.$etil; com'dad M. Tull. fratrsm. 



LEGTUKE XT. 10?' 

wearied in showing the road to glory and immortal- 
ity ? Yes, with unceasing ardour and diligence, let 
us endeavour to recover them, from vice and misery, 
to holiness and happiness ; show them heaven open, 
and encourage them to make every exertion to get 
forward. Let us bear patiently with all their igno- 
rance, and all their weakness. To show ourselves 
sullen or impatient on such occasions, is to turn thai 
"which is lame oat of the way, and to push the diseas- 
ed, which ought rather to be healed. The good pas- 
tor, like the great shepherd, will be patient, meek, 
and lowly, towards all ; but will be peculiarly tender 
of the young and weak. He will can x y the lambs in 
his bosom, and gently had those thai are with young. 
We see, then, my brethren, the indispensible ne- 
cessity of those divine graces which our master 
calls upon us to learn of him. And of whom else can 
we learn them to any good purpose ? Heathen mora- 
lists said little or nothing about them ; and even the 
law given to the Jews, because of the hardness of 
that people's hearts, allowed but little room to them. 
But Christ made them the basis of Christian morals, 
and gave, in himself, the most perfect pattern of 
them, for the imitation of his followers. For, al- 
though Lord of all, he became the servant of aU ; 
and, notwithstanding the many provocations which 
he met with, and the indignities offered him, none of 
them ever ruffled or discomposed him. Moses was 
very meek, above all the men that were upon the face 
of the earth, yet the perverse people with whom he 
had to do, so provoked his spirit, that he spake un- 
advisedly with his lips. The same people offered in- 
finitely greater indignities to our Lord, without 
kindling in him the least angry sentiment. When ca- 
lumniated as the companion of sinners, how meek 
his reply ! When slandered as a confederate with de- 
vils, how calm his reasoning ! When treated with 
rudeness by the Samaritans, how mild his spirit ! How 



103 LECTURE XI. 

patiently did he endure the contradiction of sinners, the 
persecution of enemies, and the weakness of friends ! 
Above all, how patiently did he bear the dishonour, 
and shame, and pain of the cross ; enduring at once 
the agonies of death, and the scorn of sinners, with- 
out the shadow of discomposure ! When reviled, he 
reviled not again ; when he suffered, he threatened 
not ! but prayed, and pleaded, even for his crucifiers. 
He was oppressed, ami he was afflicted, yet he opened 
not his mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the slaugh- 
ter, and as a sheep before /ier shearers is dumb, so he 
opened not his mouth. — After his blessed example, let 
us, my brethren, show all long suffering, patience, 
and meekness. Let us remember what spirit we are 
of, and what master we profess to follow. Let us 
show the world our proficiency in the school of the 
meek and lowly Jesus, that we may, at the great 
day, be owned by him as his true disciples. And 
let us always bear in mind, that, whatever may be 
our other gifts and graces, we have no pretensions 
to this character without lowliness and meekness. 
For a proud or passionate man cannot be related to 
Jesus, nor please God, if, by his ministerial gifts, 
he should be able to cast out devils. No, he rather 
offends God, and hurts man: he poisons even the 
cup of salvation, by mingling with a part of his own 
ungracious spirit. 



LECTURE XII. 



That a Minister of the Gospel should be a Man of 
Zeal and Diligence. 



HE who loves God and the souls of men, and who 
duly values the blessings of the gospel, will feel a 
necessity laid upon him, and the love of God con- 
straining him, to teach the way of salvation to others. 
He will, like the prophet of Anathoth, feel a zeal for 
this in his heart, as a burning fire shut up in his bones*, 
which a tender concern for the souls of men, whom 
he wishes to rescue from endless misery, and to put 
in the way to everlasting happiness, makes it impos- 
sible for him to restrain. He feels his whole soul 
going forth with irresistible force, impelling him to 
dedicate his life and his labours to the saving of souls, 
and to the service of the gospel. Yes, my brethren, 
to a life of study, piety and prayer, and to all pos- 
sible care to regulate his conduct and his temper, a 
faithful minister will join an earnest zeal for saving 
sinners. This will always be the ruling passion 
in his breast, of which every consideration of plea- 
sure, ease and interest, will ever yield. Without 
this, all his talents, be they what they may, would 
answer no useful end. Without this, even his mo- 
rals would be irreproachable to little or no purpose. 
To live a regular and inoffensive life, in the eyes of 
the world, may be the chief praise of most other 
men, but it should be the least of ours. For none of 
tis liveth unto himself We must therefore, have our 
hearts penetrated with the strongest zeal for saving 

* Jer. xs, 9. 



110 LECTURE XIT. 

the flocks committed to our care, and feel our souls 
deeply wounded at seeing any of them about to be 
lost. We must make every exertion, strain every 
nerve, to rescue them from their fatal bondage, to 
pluck them as brands out of the burning, to exhort, 
conjure, reprove and rebuke them, in season and out 
of season ; becoming, as far as innocence and duty 
will allow, all things to all men, that their souls may 
be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Nothing 
short of this can give us any chance of success in the 
great work in which we are engaged, or any chance 
of being approved by our Lord, on that day on 
which he will call us to give an account of our stew- 
ardship. 

If we, my brethren, are satisfied with being only 
just and regular in our conduct, and think it enough 
to discountenance vice by our practice, or even gent- 
ly reprove it by our conversation, what do we more 
than others ? In all this, many private christians, 
without the peculiar engagements, or advantages of 
our calling, equal, or, perhaps, exceed us. And if 
we differ from them in nothing but in the discharge 
of those public duties which our office indispensably 
requires of us, we greatly betray our trust, and, of 
consequence, we are not the friends, but the foes of 
our people. Then we are, in a negative sense at 
least, the instruments, not of their salvation, but of 
their eternal ruin. Our false unfeeling virtue is a 
crime, and our drowsy morals a lethargic disease, fa- 
tal to ourselves, dangerous to others, and detestable 
to God. Careless keepers of the vineyard, we show 
no watchfulness or zeal to keep the enemy from 
breaking down it's fences. Unfaithful and untender 
pastors of the church, which the son of God purcha- 
sed with his own pr#cious blood, we only look to 
ourselves, and neither lead our sheep to proper pas- 
tures, nor protect them from the lion ready to devour. 
False servants of the most high, we are unconcerned 



LECTURE XII,, III 

siJbouf promoting his glory or advancing his interest 
in the world. Careless ambassadors for Christ, we 
show no zeal in his cause, nor any concern to fill 
up what is behind of his sufferings, by rendering the 
shedding of his blood effectual for the salvation of 
the souls committed to our care. On the contrary y 
by our silence and insensibility (if these indeed be- 
long to us,) we give our approbation to those who 
reproach him, and consent to the crime of those who* 
crucified the Lord of glory. 

Can we think, my brethren, that God, who will 
have his ministers to be flaming flre, will excuse our 
inactivity and indolence in the duties of our calling, 
on account of the regularity of our manners ? Has 
he called us to his vineyard only to stand still and 
do no harm ? Or can we, in the approaching even 
ing, expect the reward of faithful servants, merely 
for having done no positive mischief ? No, my bre- 
thren, let us not deceive ourselves, God will not be 
mocked. He ha& called us to work, and not to 
stand idle : and oar personal virtue will only aggra 
vate our condemnation, for having deprived our 
people of the advantage of our zeal, which only 
could have given weight and usefulness to our vir- 
tue. For virtue, lukewarm and without zeal, will 
only serve to countenance our people in their cold- 
ness and indifference. Our example may teach them 
somewhat of regularity and decency, in which they 
wftl easily believe they need not come up to us. Our 
public ministrations they will consider as matters of 
form, when they see us have no zeal that corresponds 
to their real or apparent importance. In a word, 
they will believe we are far from being in earnest, 
and that they need be much less so. And thus, for 
want of zeal, the stream which ought to fertilize the 
valley, will become a stagnant pool, and taint all 
around with it's corruption. 

Even in an ordinary christian, there cannot be a 



112 LECTURE XII. 

surer symtom of destruction than an easy indifferent* 
cast of mind, or a listless indolent disposition. This 
will more effectually ruin the soul than ail the cares 
of the world, and all the wild schemes of ambition. 
For, the first benumbs and kills the powers of the 
soul, while the last preserve it's vigour and activity, 
and so give it some small chance of taking, perhaps, 
some time or other, a better direction. And if in- 
dolence or want of zeal be so dangerous in an ordi- 
nary christian, what must it be in a minister ? — A 
minister without zeal, is dead, however much he may 
appear to live. Zeal is that principle that should 
pervade all his life, animate all his labours, sweeten 
all his toils, and, in a word, be the life and soul of 
his ministry. Without this, all his services are hate- 
ful to God, useless to man, burdensome and uncom- 
fortable to himself. He may sometimes, indeed, draw 
near to God, but it is with a cold heart and frozen 
lips, the lifeless carcase, the mere carrion of devotion, 
Gad will, therefore, neither accept his person nor 
hear his prayers. For God is a Spirit, and they that 
worship hirriy must worship him in spirit and in truth. 
Such a person may likewise, in the dull course of 
his duty, admonish sinners, in a cold, lifeless, and lan- 
guid strain but he will admonish them without effect. 
Such soh whispers will never awaken the sleeping sin- 
ner, nor rouse him to a sense of his danger. It is not 
the yawn of the sluggard that can do this, but the trum- 
pet of the gospel powerfully sounded. The rustling 
of the leaf can never accomplish that which requires 
the roar of the thunder. 

But you will perhaps excuse yourself, my brother, 
from this exertion, by alleging it would be to no 
purpose, on account of the hardness and insensibility 
of the people. Hard, insensible, and unimpressible 
by sacred truths, alas ! they too often are. But this, 
instead of damping, should rather increase your ar- 
dour, and animate your zeal. For true zeal consid- 



LECTURE XII. 113 

ers all opposition but as fuel to augment it's flame. 
It is like a strong current, whose force increases the 
more it is straitened and confined. Mark how this 
sacred passion operated in the prophets and apostles 
of old. Mark how the zeal of Moses kindled, when 
all his people bowed to the golden calf; how the zeal 
of Elijah flamed, when he thought ail Israel had for- 
saken the true God and gone after Baal ; and how 
Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, when the Jews spake 
against them, contradicting and blaspheming. And 
did the other apostles of our Lord, when the stream 
of opposition rolled against them, put their hands in 
their bosom, sit still, yield to it's fury, and allow 
themselves tamely to be borne down by the torrent ? 
If they had, where had been their successes ? where 
their triumphs ? If the faithful witnesses of Jesus 
had not confessed him when others denied him, 
where had been their crowns ; and where our holy 
religion ? But they distinguished themselves on earth, 
and they are now distinguished in heaven. They 
stand before the throne, and before the Lamb, cloth- 
edwith white robes, and palms in their hands,the re > 
ward of their fidelity. And shall not we, my bre 
thren, have the sacred ambition of emulating their 
zeal, and sharing in their glory, especially when this 
ambition will not expose us to any imminent danger ? 
For we are not called, like them, to resist unto blood : 
We need not be afraid of dying martyrs to the cause 
of God. The best are still on our side, and the laws 
of our country spread their wings to protect us. But 
even to this sanctuary persecution will not drive us. 
The lash of tongues, it's only engine in our happy 
land, can only beat the air ; one hair of our head it 
cannot destroy. And, bad as the times are, vice is 
atill ashamed, and piety esteemed, under a zealous 
and faithful ministry. 

Or, suppose the worst, and say that it were not, 
yet, even in this unhappy case, you ought not to 



114 LECTURE XII, 

abate your zeal, or slacken your diligence. If the 
people under you are so very wicked, you should be- 
lieve that God, in compassion to their souls, called 
you forth to check their wickedness, and to awaken 
them to a sense of their crimes. Your zeal, like that 
of Moses, on the occasion above alluded to, should 
be kindled in proportion to the greatness of the crimes 
of your people, and the multitude which it has to 
encounter and restrain. Think haw Moses, Elijah, 
or St. Paul, would act in such a situation, and aim 
thou at being like them. Think how the whole 
world was corrupted, when the first ministers went 
forth to reform it, and yet they were not discouraged. 
They were brought before kings and rulers, syna- 
gogues and sanhedrims, yet they were not dismayed. 
They had trials of cruel mockings, and scourgings, 
and bonds and imprisonments : and yet their zeal, 
like fire which one attempts to drown with oil, burned 
still the brighter the more that fury and reproach 
were poured upon it. Their zeal was stronger than 
death, and by no flood of opposition could it be ex- 
tinguished. And are we called forth to stand in the 
room of such worthies, and to maintain the conquests 
which they have won, and shall we betray our trust, 
desert our post, and like cowards, give up or neglect 
the cause of God? God, and a regard to our own 
salvation, forbid it ! Sworn, as we solemnly are, to 
feed the flock of, Christ with knowledge, and with 
truth, and to devote our labours and our lives to the 
work of the ministry, let us constantly and zealously 
pursue this as our sole business, that we may not be 
found,, in that day, to have perjured our own souls, 
and to have destroyed those of others. 

If our own souls only were in danger, my bre- 
thren, and that we could perish alone, our indolence, 
in that case, would be the less criminal. But when 
we have taken upon us the care of other souls be- 
side* our own, there is no excuse for indolence or 



LECTURES*?. 11B 

mdlfterence. u Were you to pass a dangerous gulf, 
u my brother, (said once a friendly admonisher) in 
" a skiff, in which you were alone, I should be sor- 
" ry, for your own sake, to see you careless ; but I 
" have nopatience at your being so, when you have 
" engaged to pilot a vessel laden with the precious 
" souls of others. Or, if your own life only were 
" in danger, from some alarming disease, and that 
" you made light of it ; or your own house only on 
" fire, and that you did not heed it, I should, in that 
u case, regret your thoughtlessness ; but when you 
i( have undertaken to be the physician of an hospital 
,( or town infected with the plague ; or to watch and 
" put out all the fires that should be kindled in a 
94 street or district, there is no bearing, in that case, 
l( with your remissness." No, my brethren, our 
office involves the fate of thousands in the same dan- 
ger with ourselves ; and their blood will be required 
at our hands, if, through our negligence, they perish. 
Let us then act our part with care and zeal, that our 
own souls may be delivered. 

Necessity, my brethren, is laid upon us, and woe un 
to us if we act not our part with zeal and diligence. 
Our business requires and deserves every possible ex- 
ertion. We are sent to enlighten the world, to save 
it from the curse of God, to cast down the kingdom 
of Satan, to advance the kingdom of Christ, and to 
lead our people, through every difficulty, to the pos* 
session of glory. And surely all this needs and de- 
serves our utmost labour and zeal to accomplish. We 
are sent to feed and to guide the church, which God 
loved, for which Christ died, in which the Spirit 
resides, and to which angels minister, and shall we 
think much of our labour or our lives, if we may but 
fulfil our ministry ? 

Do but conceive, my brethren, how we shall wish 
to have acted our part, when the scene is about to 
close, and when the angel of death will let us know 



liO LECTURE XII. 

that we must deliver up our charge, and be no lon- 
ger stewards. Do but conceive how departed preach- 
ers would acquit themselves, were they to return 
from eternity, and permitted once more to tread the 
same stage, and to act a second part in life. Heavens! 
what examples of fidelity, earnestness, and zeal, 
should we then behold ! Like John the Baptist, who, 
in a sense, was said to be Elias returned, and who, 
from his peculiar earnestness in preaching, was cha- 
racterised by the voice of one crying, they would put 
forth all their soul and spirit in preaching the king- 
dom of God. But as no second chance of rectifying 
our conduct is to be allowed, let us now acquit our- 
selves like men. When a blessed immortality is the 
prize, and a miserable eternity the punishment, no 
exertion of zeal can be too great. Let us then do 
all that we possibly can, to improve the one glorious 
opportunity which we have of saving ourselves 
and others ; and firmly resolve, in dependance on 
the divine grace, that, whatever other men shall do, 
as for us we shall be fervent in spirit, serving the 
Lord. 

And is it possible, my brethren, that we can serve 
him in any other manner ? Is it possible we can be 
lukewarm in such a work as that in which we are 
engaged? What, my brethren, servants of Jesus 
Christ, sent forth to work his work, enlarge his king- 
dom, and gather in his elect, can we see the king- 
dom of the devil prevail over his, in the portion of 
the vineyard committed to our care, and stand the 
cool and quiet spectators of the scene ? What avails 
it though conscience reproach not ourselves with 
any gross personal crime, if we give no check to the 
crimes of those who are given us in charge ? Shall 
we behold Christ crucified afresh, and witness the 
indignities offered to his person and his name ; and 
shall we not, I will not say, only pray, and sigh, and 
groan, in the bitterness of our soul in secret : but 



LECTURE XII. 117 

shall we not also use in public every authority with 
which we are entrusted,and every weapon with which 
love and zeal can arm us ? We must otherwise be 
considered as enemies to our Master, and traitors to 
his cause ; for, if we are not heartily with him, he 
will account us to be agahist him. Yes, my brethren, 
when the glory of God and the interests of the gospel 
are concerned, a minister ought not, from indolence, 
or timidity, or false prudence, to be silent. He 
ought to know no man according to the flesh, but to 
forget titles, names, honours, and authorities, when 
those possessed of such distinctions forget themselves 
and forget their God. Whatsoever I command thee, 
thonshalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces ; for I 
am with thee, to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 

If a dear friend is abused in our presence, are we 
not fired with indignation ? Do we not say something 
in his behalf, and take his part against the slanderer 
of his name? and shall we not have the same zeal 
in supporting the name and interests of Jesus Christ ? 
Can we hope that he will honour us with the title of 
his friends, if we neglect what so tender a title re- 
quires? If even an ordinary christian who does not, 
on such occasions, confess him before men, shall be de- 
nied by him before his Father and his angels, how 
infinitely greater must be the condemnation of that 
minister, who does not stand up, though alone, for 
the glory of his Lord ; who does not confess him, if 
all the world should deny him ; and who does not 
value his smiles above his own life, and, in compari- 
son of them, despise alike the favours and the frowns 
of earth and hell ? 

I know that there is a time when the best men 
must be dumb, and restrain their lips as with a bridle; 
a time in which christian prudence will direct them 
not to cast their pearls before swine, lest those unclean 
animals turn upon them in a rage and rend them. 
And, to observe the times and the seasons, the place 



118 LECTURE XII. 

and the persons, and to restrain our zeal wfcen it 
would only produce rage or ridicule, yet with such 
symtoms of concern as may convince both the 
friends and the enemies of religion how much we 
feel it, is a matter in which ministerial prudence 
must direct us. But prudence is one thing, and cow- 
ardice another. Our Saviour's caution on this head 
will never excuse that minister who sacrifices any 
part of his master's honour, and his own duty, to 
any human or selfish consideration. The faithful 
minister will always lean to the safest side ; and, if 
his zeal should at any time carry him a little too fai% 
in the opinion of men, the rectitude of his intention 
would at the same time plead his excuse in the eye 
of God. Seldom, however, is there any danger of 
erring on this hand. So far from it, that in nothing 
do we oftener fail than in not appearing, in the com- 
mon intercourse of life, to be sufficiently penetrated 
with the importance of our office, or sufficiently 
zealous to promote it's glorious ends. We affect too 
much to be like other men, and to sail along, rather 
than stem, the ordinary tide of manners. 

Indiscreet zeal, I own, there may be. But thanks 
to heaven, which pours not down all it's vials of 
wrath at once, this is none of the evils of the pre- 
sent times. Lukewarmness, a disease of much more 
fatal and extensive consequence, has long since ban- 
ished it out of the christian world. But is it possi- 
ble, my brethren, that a minister of the gospel can 
be lukewarm, when either the honour of his master, 
or the salvation of his souls, is in the smallest degree 
concerned ? Being intrusted by the God of heaven 
with matters of everlasting moment to the souls of 
men, will he, on any account, at any time, or in 
any instance, behave in such a manner as to injure 
the great cause which he is sworn to support and 
serve ? Being a parent, can he see his children perish 
before his eyes, and feel no kindling of zeal, no bow- 



LECTURE XII. 119 

els of compassion ? Being a pastor, can he see his 
sheep throw themselves headlong into perdition, and 
not warn them zealously and loudly of their danger ? 
If he does not, he has not the heart of a parent, but 
of a stranger ; it is hard as adamant. He is nol 
a true shepherd, he is not a minister of the gospel ; 
but an usurper of the sacred office, and an intruder 
into the temple of God. And will his false title se- 
cure such a one from heaven's merited vengeance ? 
Ah, no ! the decree is already gone forth against 
him, and the execution of it, unless he repent, is not 
very distant. He shall be bound hand and foot, 
and have his portion with the hypocrites. Yes, my 
brethren, if even a common christian, who is luke- 
warm, is rejected, and cast out, like insipid water, 
which is neither hot nor cold, what shall become of 
that minister of the Gospel who serves the God of 
heaven coldly ? The case admits of no halting. If 
God be God, serve him zealously : if Baal be God, 
serve him as you will. We must either be hot or cold y 
or perish*. 

Warm, therefore, is the zeal that should actuate 
every faithful minister. And for such zeal, my 
brethren, there is a peculiar call in our day. A spi- 
rit of coldness and indifference, in matters of religion, 
is gone forth into the world. The love of many, the 
love of most, is waxen cold, and the fire of devotion 
is fallen so low, that it can scarce warm even those 
who serve at the altar. And if we are indevout, no 
wonder if others be prophane. If we are cold or 
lukewarm in matters of religion, we are not likely 
to promote it's interests among men. It is only by a 
warm and earnest desire to win souls, that we can 
look for any success in the great and glorious work 
in which we are engaged. It was by earnestness 

and zeal that our venerable predecessors, who resign- 

■» . . . ■ i - i i . — — i . ,, , ., 

* Massilon 3 passtra. 



120 LECTURE xn. 

cd their place to us, became so mighty in reforming 
the church and the world. And it may be to the 
want of these noble qualities in us, I fear, that a 
great share of the irreligioti of the age we live iri 
maybe owing. Would to God the consequence 
reached no farther than the age Ave live in : But it 
extends to judgment, it extends to eternity ; for the 
redemption of the poor souls which perish through 
our want of zeal, ceaseth forever. And, on that 
great day on which the chief Shepherd shall appear, 
and call before him the ministers, the faithful ministers, 
of former generations, to applaud their zeal and re- 
ward their diligence, they will come with their thou- 
sands and ten of thousands to produce as the fruit of 
their labours, when many ministers of our day, it is 
much to be feared, may stand alone, and without 
any such crown of rejoicing ; or, what is still worse, 
after having preached the gospel so coldly to others, 
fall themselves to be cast away. And even the most 
zealous among us may have cause to be ashamed, 
when we shall, on that awful day, meet the ministers 
of all ages, and of all countries, before the tribunal 
of our common Lord ; and when we shall be called 
forth, in order to give an account of our stewardship, 
and to show whether or not we delivered to our suc- 
cessors, each his portion of the vineyard, more culti- 
vated and improved than he received it. Then, when 
we shall hear the martyrs tell how they bled and how 
they died ; when we shall hear the first reformers tell 
how they fought, and struggled, and conquered, and 
triumphed ; when we shall hear a Patrick, a Ninian, 
a Columba, a Luther, a Calvin, and a Knox, tell 
what difficulties their zeal surmounted, and what re- 
formation their diligence effected in a few years, and 
then see them lean forward, when we are called, to 
hear what had been done by us in the course of 
ages ; how shall they be astonished and disappointed, 
and we confounded and ashamed ! , How shall ws 



LECTURE XM. 121 

hang down our heads, and wish for a veil to hide us ! 
May heaven avert such cause of shame ! And may 
we live so as to be able then to lift up our heads and 
rejoice ! With this view, let us imitate the zeal of 
those worthies who are gone before us : Or, rather, 
let us imitate the zeal of the great Examplar of our 
ministry. How ardent was his zeal for the glory of 
God and the souls of men ! He continually went a- 
bout doing good. He embraced every opportunity 
in public, in private, in the ship, in the field, at the 
table, to discourse of religion, and of the things 
which pertained to the kingdom of God. As the 
royal prophet foretold of him, the zeal of God's house 
ate him up. Of this how strong a proof did he give 
in rebuking the Scribes and Pharisees, notwithstand- 
ing their rank and their authority, their malice and 
their power ; and in purging the temple, without 
any regard to his personal safety, which might be 
endangered by those who were no doubt enraged 
when their worldly interest was affected. Consider 
how entirely he was devoted to the great work for 
which his Father sent him ; how ardent to have it 
accomplished, frequently preaching all day, and of- 
ten praying ail night ! Blessed Lord ! thou didst pray 
that our love might not grow cold ; that our faith 
might not fail ; that our zeal might not abate ! And 
shall we defeat the end of those prayers, yea, defeat 
the end of thy dying, so far as depends on us, by be- 
ing cold or lukewarm in thy service? Then, may 
our tongue cleave to the roof 'of our mouth, and our 
right hand forget her cunning ! Then, let our days 
be few, that other servants more worthy may take, 
our office! servants who may walk in the spirit of 
Elijah ; who may walk in the spirit of their mas- 
ter ; and who will not count their most painful la- 
bours dear, provided they may accomplish the end 
of their ministry, and be able to gain souls to their 
I<ord. 

R 



12-2 LECTURE XII. 

Such, my dear brethren, is the zeal that should 
actuate every faithful minister. But as every flower 
in the garden has it's semblance among the degene- 
rate tribes of the field, so this sacred passion has it's 
counterfeit ; for there is a zeal without knowledge, the 
illicit offspring of passion and imprudence, which of- 
ten hurts the cause which it means to serve, and gives 
occasion to speak against the genuine zeal of other 
men. But let us mark the distinction between them, 
which the world will seldom take the trouble to ob- 
serve. True zeal springs from charity and love, and 
is always sweet and patient. It hates the sin, but it 
loves the sinner. It strains every nerve to accomplish 
his conversion, making no account of it's toils and 
pains, and prayers, and sighs, for that purpose. Like 
that gracious Spirit, who is it's author, it returns 
with growing ardour to it's work, after having been 
already repulsed a thousand times. It leaves no 
mean untried. One while it uses prayer, another 
time promises, and anon threats. True zeal, like 
love, is ingenious, and devises a thousand arts to re- 
claim sinners and save souls. If this end is obtain- 
ed, the man of true zeal is satisfied, whoever may 
be the instrument. He prefers the good of Jerusalem 
to every private and selfish consideration ; and, like 
the Baptist, is willing to wax less, if he sees the 
kingdom of Christ wax greater. Indeed, that minis- 
ter regards the glory of God but little, who takes 
any solicitous concern at all about his own — Be thy 
glory, O my God, advanced, and I care not if my 
honour, my name, and my memorial, should perish 
from under heaven ! Be thy kingdom enlarged, O 
my Saviour, and my soul shall be transported with 
joy, though I should be none of the honoured instru- 
ments ! Let myriads bow at the foot of thy cross, 
and, whoever shall have brought them thither, I 
shall glorify thy free grace, and join in their glad 
hosannahs ! Communicate, O most holy Spirit, the 



LECTURE XII. 123 

eonverting and sanctifying influences of thy grace, 
and, whether this unworthy worm may or may not 
be one of the instruments thou shalt deign to use, I 
will in either case extol thy glorious name ! Let 
Christ be glorified and sinners saved, and my joy 
shall be full ! Let all thy other servants have more 
zeal and success in thy work than I can reach to, 
and I gladly rank the very lowest among the pro- 
phets, and rejoice to be ? in this sense, the meanest m 
the kingdom of God ! 






LECTURE XIII. 

The same Subject continued, — Of Zeal and Dili- 
gence. 

ZEAL, my brethren, is so very important a part 
of the ministerial character, that I cannot help enlarg - 
ing upon it, even at the hazard of being considered 
as tedious. What makes it so necessary to insist so 
much on this qualification is, that the age we live in is 
so very lukewarm, and that we are generally apt to 
take the colour of our character, from the manners 
of the times ; for few, extremely few indeed, ever 
think of rising above the manners of the age in which 
they live. But what are the manners of the age to 
us, who ought to form our character, not on the 
customs of the world, but on the precepts of the 
gospel ? Now, in the gospel, we find diligence and 
zeal so necessary, that the wicked and the slothful 
servant are represented as one and the same charac- 
ter.* Without zeal, therefore, my brethren, we are 
the reverse of what we ought to be : We are dead, 
however much we appear to live. Without this, 
men may be pleased with us, on account of some- 
thing foreign to our office, or perhaps of something 
which belongs to it ; but God detests us. We may 
be pleased with ourselves, when we compare our 
conduct with that of our less regular brethren, our- 
selves being judges. But this false peace will soon 
be disturbed. The halcyon -days of a careless mini - 
ster, like those feigned by the poets, are few in 
number. The clouds already begin to lour ; the 



* Matth. xxv. 20. 



LECTURE XIII. 125 

storm thickens; the thunder murmurs at a distance ; 
it grows louder and louder as it approaches ; it set- 
tles over the head of the devoted victim ; he cries 
for help ; he looks around for shelter ; he has just 
time to see that he has none to find, when the tern- 
pest bursts in one dreadful peal upon his guilty head^ 
transporting his soul on the lightning's wing to the 
bar of God, and leaving his body in dust and atoms. 
Then, all his dreams of happiness and ease are gone ; 
then, his false peace forsakes him, and a terrible 
.sound, the cries of souls perished through his negli- 
gence, awake him from his sleep, and dispel for ever 
his fatal slumbers. 

Then, who would not wish to stand in the place 
of the faithful and zealous minister ? Of that minis- 
ter - who may have been in weariness, and painfulness, 
and watchings, often ; in hunger, and thirst, and 
fastings, often ; perhaps too in cold and nakedness * 
and who, besides these outward troubles, bore on his 
mind continually a deep concern for the interests, 
not only of his own flock, but of all the churches ? 
But all the labours of his zeal and love, however 
painful, were soon over, and his works have follow , 
ed him. The many souls whom he has been the bles- 
sed instrument of saving (and of whom he reckoned 
every one worth all the labour of his life,) are now 
his joy and the crown of his rejoicing, and will be the 
cause of unspeakable honour and glory to him in the 
presence of their common Lord at his coming. Yes, 
on that day they will add to the splendour of hi* 
appearance, and to the glory of his triumph, when 
he stands with prophets, and apostles and other 
worthies, in the highest rank of the assembly of the 
First-born, and of the spirits of the just, conspicu- 
ous amidst that multitude which no man can num- 
ber, as one of the brightest stars in the azure hea- 
vens. 

Do wc desire, my brethren, that our reward should 



126 lecture xiri. 

be sure, and our latter end be happy? Then let 
us be zealous and active in the duties of our office. 
The want of zeal makes every other qualifica- 
tion useless, and is sufficient of itself to exclude us 
from glory. That it will do so to too many, is indeed 
to be dreaded : for, how few are they who discover 
so much of it as the importance of the business re- 
quires ? Accordingly it was the opinion of the pious 
and eloquent Chrysostom, that few ministers should 
be saved. It is also the observation of an eloquent 
preacher, whose sentiments on this subject I have of- 
ten had in my eye, that " God sometimes, in saving 
4( his elect, makes use of instruments which he af- 
" terwards casts away.* Such instruments may be 
compared to those cunning Tyrians, who assisted So- 
lomon in building that temple, in whose God they 
had no interest, and in whose blessings they had no 
share. This thought should fill the most faithful and 
exemplary ministers with holy jealousy and fear ; a 
fear from which St. Paul himself, with all his zeal, 
was not always free. But a careless indolent minis- 
ter, on hearing it, should tremble. All his joints* 
at the thought of this, may be loosed, and his knees, 
like Belshazzar's, smite against each other.. Hear, 
ye careless pastors, though neither impious nor im- 
moral men ; hear the character and the vision of 
Theodorus, and be faithful, be zealous, and be 
saved. 

Theodorus had the pastoral care of the vale of 
Ormay. The tenor of his life was smooth like the 
stream which stole through his valley. The path 
which he trod was always clean ; nobody could say, 
Behold the black spot on the linen ephod of Theodo- 
rus. His flock listened with attention to his voice ; 
for his voice was pleasant. His speech dropped from 
his lips as honey from the summer oak ; his words 



* Massilon. 



LECTURE Xltf. 127 

were as the dew on the rose of Ormay. The spirit 
of Theodorus was also meek, and his heart appear- 
ed to be tender. But if it was in some degree tender, 
it was in a higher degree timid. If his soft whisper 
could not awaken the sleeping lamb, he had not the 
spirit to lift up his voice and disturb it ; no, not even if 
the lion and the bear should be nigh it. If a thought- 
less sheep wandered too near the precipice or the 
brook, Theodorus would perhaps warn it gently to 
return. But rather than terrify, alarm, or use any 
exertion, he would leave it to it's fate, and suffer it 
quietly to tumble over. The danger of precipices 
and brooks in general, Theodorus often sung on his 
melodious reed ; but this or that brook he could scarce 
venture to mention, lest such of his flock as were 
near them might consider themselves as reproved, 
and so be offended. He could say in general, Beware 
of the lion and the bear ; but could not tell a poor 
wandering sheep, Thou art particularly in danger : 
Nor could he say, In such and such paths the enemy 
lies in wait to devour thee. 

The voice of history should be the voice of truth, 
and when the motives of actions are doubtful, they 
should be interpreted with candour. Let, therefore, 
the conduct of Theodorus be allowed to proceed, 
not so much from indifference as from a love of ease 
and a false fear of offending. His flock, because he 
did not disturb them, believed that he loved them, 
and they loved him in return. They were indeed, 
for the most part, a tractable and harmless herd. 
And though the service of Theodorus had not much 
zeal, it was not altogether without success. There- 
fore, without considering that he might, if zealous, 
do much more, he was satisfied with having, with- 
out zeal, done so much. He blessed God, that his 
labour was so useful, without any remorse for it's not 
being more so ; as it well might, if zeal had given 
aid to his lazv morals. All around were satisfied 



128 LECTURE XIII. 

with Theodorus. Theodorus, on comparing himself 
with all around, was secretly satisfied with himself, 
and concluded that God was also pleased. 

So dreamed Theodorus his life away, and hoped 
he should open his eyes in heav T en when that dream 
on earth should be ended. Full of these complacent 
thoughts, he ascended, on a vernal eve, the eastern 
brow of his vale, to see the calm sun setting in the 
west. How happy, said he, is the man who departs, 
like that beam, in peace ; and who, like that too, 
sets but to rise again, with more resplendent bright- 
ness, in another world ! So may I set, when my 
evening comes ; and so on the resurrection morn may 
I arise! 

As he uttered these words, he heard, as it were, 
the breath of the evening rustling in the leaves be- 
hind him. He turned his eye, and beheld a being 
whose aspect was brighter and milder than the beam 
he had been just now beholding. His robe was like 
the sether of heaven, and his voice was soft as the 
dying sound on the harp of Ormay, when the daugh - 
ters of music touch it. Theodorus bowed his head 
to the ground, and observed a respectful silence. 
For the angel had spoken peace to him, and, there- 
fore, though filled with awe, he was not afraid — 
Look down to the valley of Ormay, said the angel, 
and attend to what thou seest. — Theodorus turned 
his eye downwards. A light, clearer than the beams 
of mid-day, shone on the banks of Ormay. In it's 
beams he beheld a building far surpassing in magni- 
ficence the temple of Solomon, or the palace of Tad- 
mor in the desart. Ten times ten thousand hands 
were conspiring to rear it ; and, while fr e yet beheld, 
it seemed to be already finished. All the rubbish was 
ordered away ; a deep pit had been prepared to re- 
ceive it. The scaffolds used in rearing the edifice 
still remained ; and the master builder was consulted 
how they should be disposed of. Take, said he, the 



LECTURE 3BIL 129 

best of them to be made pillars within the palace, 
where they shall remain forever ; but for the rest I 
have no further use, and they are indeed good for 
no other purpose than that which they have already 
served : Throw them where the rest of the rubbish 
has been cast, and there, as they are of a grosser 
and more hardened quality, let them be consumed 
with the fiercest of the fire. 

The order was instantly obeyed. Piece after piece 
was taken down, and laid to this or the other hand, 
either for the palace or the pit. As they touched a 
certain piece, and seemed to think it meet for the 
pit, Theodorus felt all his frame convulsed, as if a 
thousand demons moved him ; and, in the anguish 
of his soul, he cried, u Spare me, O my God ! spare 
'" me, if it be not now too late to pray for mercy 
" and pardon." 

If it were altogether so, said the angel, I had not 
been sent to thee now as the minister of instruction. 
A few moments of grace still remain ; improve them 
with care, and show that at length thou art wise. 

Ah, my Lord ! what do these things mean ? I 
have indeed perceived their purport ; but, O that I 
*night also hear it ! 

The building which thou hast seen, said the angel, 
is the church of God ; and it's ministers are those in- 
struments which were used to rear it. Many of them 
having served that purpose, though not as they ought, 
and being fit for no other use, are at length con- 
demned. I saw the danger that hung over thee, and 
trembled for thy fate. For, negative virtues and dull 
morals, without diligence and zeal, can be of no 
avail to save a minister. Have I not pulled thee as 
a brand from the fire? — Depart in peace, think of 
thy danger, be diligent, be zealous, and be saved. 

As these words were uttered, the vision in the 
valley of Ormay vanished, and the angel shook his 
silver wings as he flew on the wind towards heaven. 

S 



ISO LBCTURE XIII. 

The rustling of his wings was like the rushing of the 
stream of Lora, where it falls between oaks in the 
gulf of Amur. 



LECTURE XIV. 



That a Minister of the Gospel should have the most 
intense Love to the Souls of Men, especially those 
under his pastoral care. 



A MINISTER'S diligence and zeal must always 
be accompanied with ardent love to his people. In 
his breast, the sacred passions of zeal and love ought 
constantly to burn, like the perpetual fire of old up- 
on the holy altar. In his conduct, the fruit of them 
should constantly appear, so as to make it manifest 
to his people, that his chief end and aim, in every 
thing he does ajnong them, is to do them good, and 
to save their souls. Indeed, every thing that he can 
do among them, if it be not accompanied with fer- 
vent love, will be of little avail to them, and of none 
at all to himself. Though he speak with the tongue 
of men and angels, and have not charity or love, he 
will only be like sounding brass or a tinkling cymboL 
Or though he should have the gift of prophecy, and 
understand all mysteries and all knowledge ; if he is 
devoid of charity and love, he is nothing. So af- 
firms, with good reason, the great apostle. 

Love, my brethren, is the genius and soul of our 
religion. In love it began ; in love it was carried 
on ; and in love it will be perfected. Love is the 
new commandment of our Lord, and the peculiar 
mark and badge of his religion. By this it's profes- 
sors were so much distinguished in it's first and best 
ages, that their enemies themselves could not help 
crying out, " See how the christians love one ano~ 
6i ther !" And by this shall all it's true members be 
so much distinguished, even in it's last and worst times, 



132 LECTURE XIV. 

that all men shall know them to be Christ's disciples. 
And were it possible that this character of our holy 
religion could be lost in all other men, it should still 
be found indellible in the life and soul of. every mi- 
nister. Whoever is destitute of this grace ; nay, who- 
ever has it not in a very high degree, ought to be 
any thing rather than a minister of the gospel ; as 
of all men in the world his heart ought to be the most 
affectionate and tender. His work should be altoge- 
ther a labour of love ; one continued act of bene- 
volence and charity. When he preaches, it is the 
watchman warning his friends of the great and im 
minent danger which threatens alike their safety and 
his own. When he prays, and pleads, and urges 
his message, with sighs, and tears, and earnest en- 
treaties ; it is the faithful ambassador, charged with 
a treaty of reconciliation and peace between God and 
man ; it is the tender shepherd in search of his stray- 
ed sheep ; the kind father in quest of his lost child. 
Is it possible to be engaged in such offices, and not 
feel the strongest emotions of compassion and love> 
constraining us to expend, or, if necessary, to lay 
down our lives for our flock ? 

This love, my brethren, is so essential to our cha- 
racter and office, that it should be our study to ex- 
cite and cherish it's growth in our souls by all possible 
means. For this end it will be proper to take a fre 
quent view of it's power and effect in the souls of 
others. See how it moved the lawgiver of the Jews 
to wish his own name, for the sake of his people, 
to be blotted out of the book which God had writ- 
ten. See how it moved the apostle of the Gentiles 
to wish himself accursed for his brethren. And see, 
above all, and place frequently before your eyes, 
the great Pattern of our ministry, and contemplate 
his infinite love to the souls of men. It was his aston- 
ishing love that brought him down from heaven, 
that made him tabernacle in the flesh, endure all the, 



LECTURE XIV. ld& 

wretchedness of life, and suffer all the pains of death 
upon the cursed tree. For it was not the malice of 
the Pharisees, the fury of the Jews, the injustice of 
Pilate, or the treachery of Judas, that occasioned the 
death of the son of God : It was his own mysterious 
love, a love stronger than death, that made him wil- 
lingly submit to all the agonies of dying. It was of 
his own sole pleasure that this good shepherd laid 
doivn his life for his flock : for none had power to 
take that life away. 

And is not our intensest love, my brethren, due 
to the souls of men, which were so highly loved by 
our Lord? Did he bestow his labour and his life up- 
on them, and shall we grudge to expend our most 
zealous labours, and our poor lives, in promoting 
that work for which he lived, and for which he died ? 
Behold him weeping for the approaching calamities 
of Jerusalem, and learn to compassionate the fate of 
dying souls. Hear his last prayer for his crucifiers, 
and learn to make your love triumph over every in- 
jury with which an ungrateful world may require it. 
If the world repays you hatred for love, consider it 
did the same to your Master ; and reckon every op- 
portunity of doing good, even to the evil and unthank- 
ful, as so many happy occasions of copying his 
blessed example. So shall you approve yourselves 
the dear children of your Father which is in heaven. 
Such opportunities, therefore, if they did not daily 
occur, ought to be anxiously sought after, rather 
than at any time avoided. The surest way, too, of 
engendering in our souls a strong love to our people, 
is to be always employed in doing them good. For 
love is not only the cause, but also the consequence, 
of every good action. Hence the noted observation 
of Tacitus, that we must hate those whom we injure, 
and love those whom we serve. Benificence is, there- 
fore, the great mean of exciting and increasing in us 
this affection of the soul. And, as love procures love, 



134 LECTURE XIV. 

the grateful return which our benificence will meet 
with from our people, is likely to produce in us a 
still higher degree of it. But whatever may be the 
return, we must persevere and abound in every good 
work. And, in order to make our love hold out, 
we must remember that it is not from the world we 
are to expect the reward of it's labours, but from the 
Lord Jesus, who, at his appearing, will amply re- 
compense it ; putting the crown of immortality upon 
our heads, and pronouncing, over each, that blessed 
sentence, " Well done, good and faithful servant, 
" enter thou into the joy of thy Lord !" 

To promote further this love, which is so essenti- 
tial a part of the ministerial character, w r e should be 
exceedingly attentive to bear our people frequently 
on our hearts before God ; and there, like tender 
parents, plead for pardon for the faults of our chil- 
dren. Nothing has a greater tendency to strengthen 
our affection to them, and a conscientious and habit- 
ual discharge of this part of our duty.* 

We should also, as far as christian charity will al- 
low, (and the bounds of it are large indeed !) ac- 
custom ourselves often to contemplate our people in 
the many endearing relations in which they stand to 
us ; as the offspring of one parent, the children of 
one family, fellow-servants, and fellow- sufferers ; as 
the purchase of Christ's blood, as the members of his 
body, and, especially as souls entrusted to our guid- 
ance and care. We should endeavour to consider 
them as sharers in the same dangers with ourselves, 
followers of the same leader, travellers to the same 
country, and to the same tribunal, dependants on the 
mercy of the same great Friend, and expectants of 
the iame glory. 

In these endearing and eternal relations ought we, 
if possible, to consider all our people, even the most 
untoward. At least, if they are not now to be con- 



* See above, on Praver. 



LECTURE XIV. 135 

sidered in these relations, let us mightily endeavour 
that they may ; and never presume finally to pro- 
nounce against them any other sentence. For, is it 
not one of the properties of charity or love to hope all 
things? Accordingly, we should hope the best con- 
cerning even the worst of our children, and not de- 
spair of being made the means to save them. Grace 
sometimes begins where iniquity abounds. When 
the prodigal son was farthest off, then thought he of 
returning home. When Saul was persecuting the 
church of Christ, who would have thought he should 
be saved? Surely the salvation of any soul under our 
care cannot be less likely. Let us, therefore, indulge 
the pleasing thought, that it is possible the worst of 
our people, through our earnest diligence blessed by 
the grace of God, may become the seals of our minis 
try, and the brightest gems in our crown. The ver 
ry possibility of one such instance of conversion 
should make us abound in every labour of love, in 
order to effect it. For the conversion of one soul, it 
Were well worth a minister's while to have come into 
the world, to have lived, to have laboured, and to 
have died. How would such a trophy magnify the 
riches of free grace, and fill the church above and 
below with joy ! 

And who will venture to pronounce the salvation 
of any soul, still out of hell, entirely impossible ? 
Let us leave to the children of this world all rash 
judgment, and the despairing of any living soul's sal- 
vation ; but let us, who are the servants of charity, 
and the ministers of Jesus, be deeply impressed with 
the character of our function, and with the image of 
our Lord. Let us love all men, but more especially 
those of our charge, with a pure heart fervently. Then 
our duty will feel easy to us, and we shall deem our 
labour lighter. Indeed, without love, that labour, 
that unremitting labour, of watching, and praying, 
and studying, and preaching ; of exhorting, and re- 



136 LECTURE XIV. 

proving, and visiting, and instructing, in season and 
out of season, and from house to house, would be al- 
together oppressive and intolerable. But, with it, our 
work will be our pleasure, and the most difficult parts 
of it will become easy and delightful. 

Nor shall that labour which proceeds from a sin- 
cere love to the souls of our people, be often bestow- 
ed in vain. Let it be manifest that it is this that ac- 
tuates us, and they will, at least, for the most part, 
love us in return ; they will listen to us, they will 
obey us. When the first preachers (like the great 
Shepherd) loved their flock at such a rate as to lay 
down their lives for their sake, no wonder if the suc- 
cess attending their labours was so very astonishing. 
And in after ages, where the same love was manifest* 
it always ensured success. Ardent love triumphed 
over every opposition, when all other means were 
tried without effect. The church of Rome used all 
her arts (and they were not a few) to convert the 
Northumbrians from Pagan superstition. But world- 
ly motives, more than love to the souls of men, seem- 
ed to actuate her emissaries, and their preaching, 
therefore, was in vain. Aidan, a pious monk of 
Ionia ,did alone what the united force of Rome could 
not accomplish. By his fervent love, accompanied 
with good instructions and a holy life, he so charmed 
the heathens, that he brought them over to the chris- 
tian faith. After him, Finan, and many otlters from 
the same nursery of divines, actuated by the same 
motive, had the like success in other parts of the 
kingdom. 

" Love your people, (said one of the fathers) and 
' ' you may say what you will.*" If we love our 
people, we may speak to them with freedom and 
with boldness. Even when our faithful reproofs 
wound them to the quick ; when our awful alarms 

* Dilge, et die quoiTcunque voles, August. 



LECTURE XIV. 137 

disturb the False repose in which they lulled their 
souls ; and when our pointed representations discover 
to each his own character, and make him clearly 
perceive that he is the man, even then they will listen 
to us with attention, generally love us, ahd bless us 
as their friends. Let us, then, by all the means in 
our power*, cultivate this reciprocal love between 
pastor and flock, on which the success of our minis- 
trations, in so great a measure, must depend. Let 
us endeavour to make ourselves amiable to our peo- 
ple, if we wish to save them. Let us be their con- 
solation, and they will be ours. Let us love them as 
parents, and they will obey us as children. Let us 
never do any thing to forfeit their esteem and love ; 
for on this our own souls, and I may say theirs, are 
depending; for on this depends our influence over 
them, and the whole fruit of our ministry. 

The best advice is but little regarded, where there 
is neither love nor esteem for the speaker. Hence 
the ancient rhetoriciansf laid it down as a first max- 
im, That an orator should be a good man ; for they 
judged it impossible for him to persuade his hearers, 
till they should first think well of him ; and from 
a belief that he had their interest at heart, con- 
ceive a regard for him. And indeed there is hardly 
an instance in history, of any powerful and persuasive 
orator, who was not also a good and benevolent man. 
Demosthenes, iEschines, Cicero, Pericles and Pisistra- 
tus, were all of this stamp ; and, to this cause, no 

* " The means to make yourself beloved as well as fear- 
" ed, I comprehend under these six maxims: 1. A good 
" life ; 2. Being gentle, obliging, and equitable ; S. Beha- 
" ving with prudence ; 4. Never forsaking your oflice ; 5. 
** Discharging it as you ought j 6. Having courage to speak 
" when you ought, and to give private admonitions." — Os- 
tbrwald on the Exercise of the Ministry. 

t Arist. Rhet. 1. iii. cap. 24. Cicer. de Orat, L And 
Quintil.l. 12. 

T 



138 LECTURE XIV. 

less than to their eloquence, we may attribute their 
power of persuasion. In like manner, when once 
we have, by a holy life and unfeigned love, con- 
vinced our people of our strong regard for them, 
our business is in a fair way of succeeding. Mode- 
rate talents, animated by zeal and love, will always 
be found more useful, that is, more successful than 
the greatest talents without them ; as a hot iron, 
though blunt, will pierce much sooner than a sharper 
one that is cold. Eloquence and learning* are highly 
necessary ; but, if found alone, they never give the 
preacher the power of persuasion. What does this, 
under the influence of the spirit of God, is a holy 
and exemplary life, joined with ardent zeal and love 
to the souls of men. '' He was more subtle than 
" elegant (says a Bohemian writer of a very ami- 
" able reformer) ; but the gravity and austerity of 
" his manners, his plain and exemplary life, his 
" mortified and self denied appearance, his sweetness 
" of temper, and his uncommon affability and love 
" towards persons of all ranks and conditions, from 
" the highest to the lowest, gave him much more of 
" the power of persuasion, than he could possibly 
" have derived from any eloquence." 

We are told of the divine apostle John, that, on 
the three last days on which he preached the gospel, 
his age and infirmities were such, that, after having 
been earned to church, he could only speak one 
short sentence, and that sentence always the same : 
'* Children, love one another" This was the sum 
of all the practicable doctrines which he taught, and 
which we teach ; and ought, therefore to be deeply 
impressed upon our own souls. If the apostle had 
been to address an audience of ministers in so many 
words, he would no doubt have said, " Brethren, 
" love your people." Let us then, my brethren, 
have fervent love to the souls of our people ; and ne- 
ver cease to give them proofs of our regard ; for this 
is the epitome of all our duty. 



LECTURE XV. 



That a Minister of the gospel should be a Man of ten- 
der Sympathy and sensibility of Soul. 



THAT a tender sensibility of soul, which easily in- 
terests itself in the joys and sorrows of other men, 
forms a very essential qualification in a minister of 
the gospel. His office perpetually presents him with 
objects of compassion, and this affection moves him, 
to feel and to commiserate their situation. Without 
this, the sins and miseries which he daily beholds, 
would become so familiar as to make no impression ; 
nay, they would expose him more than all other 
men to the danger of becoming altogether callous 
and unfeeling. This consideration, my brethren, 
should powerfully engage us to cultivate the most 
exquisite sensibility of soul, by embracing every op- 
portunity of giving it exercise ; for it is by exercise 
that all the powers of either body or soul are brought 
to any degree of perfection. What we do often we 
do with ease, and, I may say, with pleasure too ; 
whereas we become averse to the duty which we 
have long neglected to perform. 

We should, therefore, never allow ourselves to be- 
hold with indifference any misery, of body or oflmind, 
among our flock, or indeed among our fellow crea- 
tures. We should remove or relieve it, or contribute 
to do so, if we can, and supplicate the Father of all 
consolation and mercy in their behalf, whether more 
be in our power or not. This is our duty, even if 
they should be ungrateful and insensible to our kind 
ness. Thus Christ wept over the ungrateful city, 
and prayed for those who fixed him to the accursed 



140 LECTURE XV. 

tree. He also requires of us, to love even our enemies, 
to bless them that curse us, and to pray for them who 
despitefully use us. Then shall we approve ourselves 
the genuine disciples of Jesus, and great shall be out- 
reward in heaven. Is any hungry then ? let us feed 
him. Is any naked ? let us clothe him. Is any 
injured ? let us assist him. Is any afflicted ? let us 
comfort him. Is any sick ? let us visit him ; and 
search for the orphan, the widow and the stranger, 
that we may patronise and protect them. In doing 
all this, in the measure that we can, let us make no ac- 
count of our little means ; and rejoice that God hath 
declared that, where there is a willing mind, he 
will accept according to what a man hath, and not ac- 
cording to what he hath not ; and that even a cup of 
cold water, if we have no more, shall in no wise lose 
it's reward. Let us rejoice that God permits us to 
put our mite into his treasury, where he will take 
care of it, till our own soul, in the day of need, shall 
reap the fruit of it. In a word, let us take into ac- 
count the present pleasure and the future reward, of 
this part of our duty, and judge, if it be not indeed 
more blessed to give than to receive. 

As precepts, my brethren, are best illustrated and 
enforced by examples, I cannot, on this occasion, for- 
bear to mention that of the heavenly Deogratias : 

" When Rome was sacked by the Vandals in the 
" year 455, many thousand Romans, of both sexes, 
" chosen for some useful or agreeable qualifications, 
" relunctantly embarked on board the fleet of Gen - 
" seric; and their distress was aggravated by the 
" unfeeling barbarians, who, in the division of the 
" booty, separated the wives from their husbands, 
u and the children from their parents. The charity 
" of Deogratias, bishop of Carthage, (to which they 
" were carried) was their only consolation and sup- 
" port. He generously sold the gold and silver plate 
" of the church, to purchase the freedom of some, 



LECTURE XV. 141 

H to alleviate the slavery of others, and to assist the 
u wants and infirmities of a captive multitude, whose 
u health was impaired, by the hardships which they 
li had suffered in the passage from Italy to Africa. 
" By his order, too, spacious churches were convert- 
" ed into hospitals ; the sick were distributed in 
u convenient beds, and liberally supplied with food 
u and medicines ; and the aged prelate repeated his 
u visits, both in the day and night, with an assidui- 
6e ty that surpassed his strength, and a tender sym- 
(( pathy that enhanced the value of his services. 
" Compare this scene with the field of Cannae, and 
"judge between Deogratias and Hannibal*." 

And, if our office calls on us, my brethren, to at 
tend thus to the miseries of the body, much more to 
those of the soul. The ignorance, the guilt, and the 
danger of immortal souls, entrusted to us for instruc- 
tion and guidance, is what must deeply affect us, if 
we are not past feeling, and altogether hardened. 
To point out the way to the traveller, to warn the 
voyager of a rock, or the wayfaring man of a preci- 
pice, and to allow another to kindle his lamp or 
fire by ours, were offices of humanity, which the 
light of nature taught even the heathens to show to 
strangers and enemies. And shall not Christianity, 
and our peculiar office as it's consecrated servants, 
induce us to show compassion to souls which are out 
of the way ; to warm them most affectionately of their 
danger, when they are rushing on eternal destruc- 
tion ; and to impart light to those who sit in darkness, 

* Vide Gibbon, et aut. cit. Deogratius governed thechurh 
of Charthage only three years ; and yet, in that short time 
he gained so much upon the affections of his people, by his 
services, that their love to him knew no bounds. If he had 
not been buried privately, it is said, that in their frantic de- 
votion they would have torn his body piecemeal, to keep it as 
a dear and sacred relic. 



I4£ LECTURE XV. 

and in the shadow of everlasting death ? To this our 
religion and our duty calls us ; to this our eternal in- 
terest (which we are never to separate from that of 
our flock) constrains us ; and constrains us the more 
powerfully, as we know not how soon they and we 
both shall lose the precious opportunity which we 
now have, of saving, and being saved; for, our place 
shall soon know us no more ; others shall speak in it ; 
and others, too, shall hear. It is but a few days till 
the angel shall lift his hand, and swear, that Time 
shall be, to us, no more. Whatsoever, therefore, our 
hand shall find to do, let us do it with all our might, 
knowing that our labour shall not be in vain in the 
Lord ; for if there be joy in heaven over a sinner 
that repenteth, what must the happiness and glory of 
a faithful minister be, at the solemnity of the great 
day, when, in the presence of all the saints and an- 
gels which compose the assembly of the First-born, 
it shall be declared that he was, under God, the in- 
strument of saving many souls, and of furnishing 
frequent occasions of joy and rejoicing to all heaven ! 
I see the eyes of men and angels turn upon him, and 
the judge, with infinite complacence, address him, 
" Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou 
" into the joy of thy Lord !" 

But it is not only with respect to the state of others, 
my brethren, that we are in danger of being insen- 
sible and cold. We are also apt to be too little af- 
fected with our own state, too little impressed with 
the sacred office which we bear ; and with the solemn 
truths which we declare ; as if the awful truths 
which we preach to others did not equally concern 
ourselves ! as if the bread of life which we reach to 
others were not also food for our own souls ! It is a 
melancholy fact, however, that sometimes none is 
less affected with the truths of the gospel, than the 
very man who preaches*. Like those who sounded 

* " Some decent in demeanor while they preach, 
n That task performed, relapse into themselves, 



LECTURE XT. 143 

the horns before the gates of Jericho, he may strike 
terror into others, while he himself is free from all 
apprehension and concern. Hence the preaching of 
a wicked minister may be sometimes blessed to others, 
when the preacher himself is rejected of God. In 
this case, great God ! how will the souls who melted 
under our ministry, and repented at our sermons* 
condemn ourselves in judgment, if we remain thus 
insensible and cold ? How will they stand astonish- 
ed at finding, that truths, so awful and affecting in 
our mouths, had so little effect in softening our hearts, 
or amending our lives ? You that sealed others (may 
they with the apostle say to us), you are not sealed ! 
You warned us how terrible a thing it was to fall 
into the hands of the living God, and yet you your- 
selves neither loved nor feared him. You announ- 
ced how necessary it was to worship him in spirit 
and in truth, and you yourselves gave him only lip 
service. Ah ! you yourselves are become awful mo- 
numents of the most dreadful truths which you evor 
declared. You preached the gospel to others, and 
you yourselves are cast away. O, how are you fal 
ten, like Lucifer, son of the morning ! 

The lethargic state which I now speak Of, my bre- 
thren, is a disease against which we cannot be too 
much upon our guard. There is nothing so dange- 
rous for a minister as to grow remiss, and to fall 
from his first love ; nothing so dangerous as to slum 
ber in a state of insensibility, without a relish for 
heavenly things, and feeling in his soul the life and 
power of godliness. If, in such a state, he is free 
from gross irregularities, it is but the artifice of the 
devil, not to awaken his remorse, that he may per- 
ifeh the more securely. The danger of such a hard- 

" And, having spoken wisely, soon give proof, 
Whoe'er was edified, themselves were ■•t/' 



144 LECTURE XV. 

ened minister is much greater than that of any of his 
hearers ; for the sleeping sinner may be awakened 
and alarmed by his gross crimes, and the slumbering 
saint may be roused by the preacher's sermons ; 
those sermons which to himself are but words of 
course, grown familiar by frequent using. But the 
indolence and insensibility of a minister in the exer- 
cise of his duty, will not allow him to be either ter- 
rified or roused ; and his condition is the more fatal 
by how much his conscience is the more peaceful. 

" By the original constitution of our nature, habit, 
<c which strengthens our active principles, weakens 
u all passive impressions. The more frequently we 
" consider or feel motives to virtue, without being 
ci really excited to the practice of virtue, the feebler 
" will be their influence upon us ; the greater our 
a insensibility, the more imminent our danger of ne- 
tl ver yielding to their force. This is an alarming truth 
u to all human creatures, but to ministers of the gos- 
a pel more alarming than to others. We must revolve 
" and preach the duties of the gospel so frequently, 
" that if they do not influence us early to sincere 
u and stedfast virtue, they must quickly become fa- 
" miliar, and lose their power. Moral and divine 
*' considerations must pass so continually through 
" our minds, that, in a very short time, they will 
" make no impression on us. A person whom our 
" profession does not render virtuous, will become 
" more suddenly and more desperately obdurate in 
" wickedness than any other man*/' 

An awful and alarming example of this truth w« 
have in the imperial apostate Julian, who had fairly 
entered on the inferior offices of the ecclesiastical or- 
der, and promised the noblest fruits of faith and pi- 
ety. He pub icly read the holy scriptures in the 
church of Nicomedia. He prayed, he fasted, distri- 

* See Gerard's Syn. Serm. and Butler's Analogy. 



LECTURE XV 145 

fouted alms to the poor, gifts to the clergy, and obla- 
tions to the tombs of the martyrs. He affected the 
conversation of bishops the most eminent for their 
sanctity, and solicited the benedictions of the holiest 
monks and hermits*. But all this, it seems, he 
went through as a mere formal exercise, in which 
the heart had no share ; and therefore was easily 
carried away, by opportunity and temptation, to 
deny the faith, and at length to persecute those who 
professed it. So that a minister who is not truly 
and eminently holy, may be afraid of being soon, if 
not the most notorious, at least the most hardened, 
of sinners. If he fall into such a measure of guilt as 
is ordinary, he will go beyond it quickly. The na- 
ture of his office, and the weight of his character, 
like that of a stone precipitated from the mountain, 
will increase the velocity of his fall, and insure, as 
well as hasten, his perdition. 

It therefore concerns us nearly, my brethren, to 
maintain always upon our own souls the clearest and 
deepest impressions of those glorious things which 
we daily preach to others. And if we did so more 
than we do, what a change would be thereby pro- 
duced upon our lives and sermons ! it would amaze 
n thinking person what matters we preach and 
speak of, and with how much indifference and 
coldness ! What it is for the soul to be allowed a 
few moments of grace, then to pass out of this flesh, 
appear before the righteous God, receive it's final 
sentence, and enter upon exquisite, endless, and 
unchangeable joy or torment ! O ! the gravity, 
the seriousness^ the sensibility, and incessant dili- 
gence which the duties of our office require of 
us ! '* For my own part (said a faithful minister) 
" I am ashamed of my stupidity, and wonder at my 

* Gibbon, et aut. cit. 

u 



148 LECTURE XV. 

mon to the Ephesians is a striking example. He de 
livered it with many tears ; the people wept sore, fell 
on his neck, kissed the departing servant of God, and 
sorrowed most of all for this, that he said they should 
see his face no more. " O how deep into the heart 
" go those periods that are sown in the unforced, un- 
" invited tears of the preacher* !" 

* Robinson on Claude. 



LECTURE XVI. 

That a Minister of the Gospel should be faithful in 
declaring the whole Counsel of God. 

WITH our minds prepared by knowledge, study, 
prayer, and those other qualifications which we have 
mentioned, we enter with advantage on the com- 
position and delivery of our sermons. With these 
qualifications, we may hope for the guidance of the 
divine Spirit to lead us into all truth, and to enable us 
to lead our people in the way of salvation, by declar- 
ing to them the whole counsel of God. Such fidelity 
becomes the trust reposed in us, as ambassadors for 
Christ. We must say nothing but what we are au- 
thorised to say ; nor, on the other hand, must we 
conceal or disguise one iota of our message. Of all 
the words tJuxt I command thee, saith God, diminish 
not a word. 

This fidelity is so important a part of a minister's 
character, that the apostle seems to have laid parti- 
cular weight on it, in that solemn appeal which he 
makes to the elders of Ephesus, concerning his own 
conduct in this respect. Wherefore I take you to re- 
cord this day, that I am pure from the blood of all 
men, for I have not shunned to declare to you all the 
counsel of God. Thus, my brethren, must we preach 
the law of God, (that law which is exceeding broad), 
in all it's extent, in all it's spirituality and strictness, as 
reaching to every thought, word, and action ; to 
every condition, and to every creature. We must 
enforce it by all it's sanctions of threatenings and pro- 
mises, in order to establish, if possible, the grace of 
God in the souls of men. 



150 LECTURE XVI. 

Whatever our people need, and ought to know, 
it is our business to teach them ; and, whatever they 
ought to do, it is our business to enjoin them ; pray- 
ing always to God for direction to choose our sub- 
jects, as well as for aid to treat them as we ought. 
We should also study, by every proper and prudent 
mean, to become acquainted with their opinions and 
their practices, that we may the better know how to 
address them, and be able to lay their hearts and 
their lives open before them. We must press them 
to acquire the graces and virtues which they most 
need, and to guard against the sins to which they are 
most addicted, or most exposed. We must, especial- 
ly, labour to excite them to a due sense of their 
guilt and unworthiness, to earnest desires of pardon, 
to fervent love to him who loved them, to unlimited 
resignation to the will of God, with the most earnest 
and sincere endeavours of cheerful, constant and 
universal obedience to his laws. We must warn 
them against profaneness, lukewarmness, injustice, 
uncharitableness, and unlawful gratifications, Wc 
must caution them against the immoderate love of 
this world, and direct their souls to look and long 
for a better. We must direct them to use every pro- 
per mean of advancing in holiness ; such as, reading, 
meditation, prayer, and watchfulness. We must 
direct them, especially, to attend, to make conscience 
of attending, on all the public ordinances of religi- 
on ; but caution them against growing formal, or 
laying undue stress on these ordinances, as they can 
avail us only so far as they contribute to our im- 
provement in holiness and virtue. We must teach 
them the absolute necessity of uniting morality and 
piety ; as no outward honesty or regularity will ex- 
cuse the want of devotion, any more than the exer- 
cise of devotion will atone for the want of morality. 

While we inculcate the observance of moral du- 
ties, we must, after the example of our Master, di- 



LECTURE XVt. 151 

rect the chief attention of our people to the more 
ordinary and useful virtues of justice, charity, hu- 
manity, humility, meekness, purity, self-command, 
and self-denial. If these virtues are well cultivated 
in the soul, the more splendid ones will exert them- 
selves of course, when the rarer opportunity of show- 
ing them occurs. The general habits of virtue will 
naturally adapt the soul for the discharge of any par- 
ticular duty, to which the emergency of the moment 
calls it. The cultivated field will produce, not only 
the herb for food, but the flower for show, if the 
seed at any time is thrown into the soih 

With these practical truths, we must teach our 
people the nature, evidence and importance of our 
holy religion ; the miserable condition of fallen man 
in general, which our own actual sins have made 
still more deplorable. We must make them ac- 
quainted with the redemption wrought out for them 
by Jesus Christ, the nature and importance of true 
faith in him, and their absolute need of the grace of 
the divine Spirit to enable them to obey his precepts. 
We must, especially, instruct them in the peculiar 
and distinguishing doctrines of Christianity, the dig- 
nity of the person of Christ, his incarnation, Ms life, 
his death, his atonement and propitiation, his resur- 
rection and intercession, his universal sovereignty, 
and his ordination to be the judge of the quick and 
of the dead at the last day ; as also the various offi- 
ces or operations of the Holy Spirit. This will be ad- 
dressing them as christian ministers ought to address 
a christian audience. It will also be promoting the 
great end of preaching; which is, holiness of life 
and conversation. For, justice, charity, repentance, 
and devotion, naturally flow from those truths of 
our holy religion. Every office of our blessed Savi- 
our, and every relation in which we stand to him, 
requires some correspondent duty on our part, which 
©ught to be carefully inculcated. Is he our prophet ? 



\$% LECTURE XVI. 

we ought to learn of him. Is he our king ? we ought 
to obey him. Is he our priest ? we ought to rely on 
his intercession and his sacrifice. Is he our physi- 
cian ? we ought to take the remedies which he pre- 
scribes. Is he our pattern ? we ought to follow his 
example. 

In like manner ought we to inculcate the duties 
corresponding to the relations and operations of the 
Holy Spirit, whose illuminating, aiding, consoling, 
and sanctifying influences, we may always expect, 
in proportion as we comply with his motions, im- 
plore his presence, and sincerely co-operate with his 
suggestions. We ought to inculcate, that the life 
and death of Christ were not more necessary to re- 
deem us, than the operations of the Spirit are to 
sanctify us ; and that, as without faith in the Son, 
we cannot please, so, without the sanctification of 
the Spirit, we cannot see God. 

It is especially our duty to represent Christ, to 
poor perishing sinners, as an all-sufficient Saviour, 
suited to all their wants and exigencies. We are to 
show the fullness and freeness of his grace ; to pub- 
lish his invitations in their unlimited terms ; and to 
urge them, with the most powerful motives that can 
he drawn from the love and from the wrath of God ; 
from the joys of heaven, and from the terrors of 
hell ; from all the glorious and dreadful realities of 
an approaching and eternal world. 

With regard to the mysteries of religion, or those 
deep things of God, which, in our present state, we 
cannot comprehend but darkly, the pulpit is not the 
place to treat of them. In any place, indeed, our 
faculties are very inadequate to their investigation. 
They are high as heaven, what can tee know 9 deep 
as hell, what can we understand ? With a modest 
and humble faith we may view them at a distance ; 
but, if we attempt to sound their depth, we soon go 
beyond our own. And, whatever side we take of 



LECTURE XVI. 153 

those disputes to which many of them, such as, free- 
grace and free-will, election, reprobation, and the 
like, gave rise, we shall find it to be attended with 
many difficulties . It will, therefore, be prudent to ob- 
serve the maxim of Plato, " never to attempt to han^ 
'• die any question upon which it is impossible to de- 
" cide." Our wisdom is to turn away our dazzled 
and feeble eyes from beams of so much brightness, 
that the contemplation of them, like that of the sun, 
must, at first, pain us, and, at length, blind us It 
was never intended that we should search into the 
secret decrees of God, either for rules of action, or 
sources of consolation. He hath shewn thee, O 
man, thy duty, by the consciousness he has given 
thee of a power to choose the good, and to refuse 
the evil. Listen to the dictates of this power, and 
keep from the labyrinth of fatality, in which all who 
entered it have b$en lost for want of a clue to guide 
them. From a study so unavailing, and so danger- 
ous, let us then avert our thoughts ; and fix them 
on the milder beams of the divine mercy, as mani- 
fested through Christ ; on the pure laws, and sub- 
lime promises of his gospel ; on the goodness of his 
present government ; and on the equity of his future 
judgment. Secret things belong to God, but things 
revealed, to us and to our children. For ever and 
ever, therefore, let us inculcate the superior impor- 
tance of a strong sense of love and duty to God, 
founded on just and worthy conceptions of his na- 
ture, and manifested by a life of obedience and re- 
signation, by a life of devotion, self-government, and 
charity. Let us teach the necessity of believing in 
those mysteries, so far as God has given us any 
knowledge of them in his word; but then leave them, 
without offering any minute explanation of them ; 
for so God himself has left them. Head them you 



156 LECTURE XVI. 

" out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, 
" and from the things which are written in this 
" book." 



LECTURE XVII. 

The same Subject continued, — Of declaring the whole 
Counsel of God. 

AS we ought to declare the whole counsel of God, 
so, my brethren, ought we to divide aright the word 
of truth. Prudence and discretion, cardinal vir- 
tues in all, but more especially in a minister, must 
point out the seasons in which particular truths are 
likely to do most good, and then they ought to be 
handled. Attention to providence, to the prevailing 
vices of the place, or of the times, and to the pre- 
sent circumstances of our people, may help to direct 
us in the choice of subjects, which ought always to 
be preached from the most striking texts that we can 
find. Characters strongly marked, historical passa- 
ges, a parable, conversation, miracle, or some narra- 
tive concerning any remarkable person or event, 
fix the attention, and lay hold of the memory, and 
may, therefore, furnish us often with proper texts 
or topics for our sermons. In these matters, how- 
ever, it would be wrong to follow any one particular 
line, when scripture furnishes so rich a variety. No 
velty too, is pleasing, and helps to engage the atten- 
tion ; for which reason, we ought perhaps to preach 
seldom more than once at a time from the same 
passage. Besides the exigencies of our people are so 
various, that if we treat of precise and particular 
subjects, as for the most part we ought, it is necessa 
ry to change them often, in order to suit the varie- 
ty of cases, characters, and tastes, of the multitude 
who hear us. 



15S LECTURE XVI£. 

Perhaps the most likely way to take in the whole 
extent of our duty, and to profit as well as to please 
our people most, would be, to deal more in lectur- 
ing* than in preaching, provided we do it with judg- 
ment and care, and in a manner that will engage and 
interest. Of the two, this is by far the most diffi- 
cult, and therefore that which is seldomest used ; at 
least used as it ought ; for it is sometimes gone about 
without due preparation or study, and consequently 
gone through in so drawling and slovenly a manner, 
as to make it, if not useless, at least disgusting and 
tiresome. If, in the mode of managing this exercise, 
were I to propose a model, I should not hesitate to 
name St. Chrysostom, as in many respects worthy 
of imitation. He is not only learned and useful, but 
interesting and lively; always awake himself, he 
never allows even his readers to sleep or be tired. 

In lecturing, some err by saying too much, and 
attempting to explain what is already clear. Their 
text is too short, their comment too long. On every 
word or sentence they think they must say some- 
thing, by which means they generally darken, always 
weaken, the word of God. Others, to show their 
learning or their reading, go out of their way, to 
tell their hearers this or the other fact or opinion, 
which they are neither the wiser nor the better for 
knowing ; nay> of which probably they had better 
have been totally ignorant. Therefore, my brethren, 
when you lecture, read always a large portion of 
scripture ; give a clear and concise view of it ; ex- 
plain what is dark ; let alone what is already clear ; 
make a few striking reflections on narratives, charac 
ters, providences, promises, and precepts; and all 

* i. e. Reading and explaining a large portion of Scrip- 
ture, and adapting it'g practical uses to the circumstance* 
ot the hearer 



LECTURE XVII. I5i 

with a direct view to mend the heart, and influence 
the conduct. In every thing you say, let it he your 
only aim to make your people more virtuous 
and holy. In the course of every year or too, (as 
did the Jews and first Christians) you might thus 
go through at least the greater and more interesting 
part of scripture, in it's chronological order, carry- 
ing always along with you the chain of history and 
prophecy., and observing how all the scriptures, from 
first to last, point to a Saviour, and have, for their 
end, the sanctification and salvation of our souls. 
Thus may you hope to edify and instruct, and, at 
the same time, please and entertain your hearers. 
Thus, too, will you teach them, that the end of 
meeting in church is, to worship God, and to hear 
his word ; and not merely, or principally, to hear a 
sermon. 

On some occasions, too, the faith and practice ol 
a christian, or the doctrines and duties of Christian- 
ity, might be treated systematically, by classing and 
arranging them duly, and using, as much as may 
be, the language of scripture*. Some, perhaps, 
may object, that, as most people already know the 
scriptures, neither of these methods has the novelty 
or variety of a sermon, and will, therefore, be not 
^o pleasing ; although I hope they will allow them 
to be at least equally useful. I might have thought 
as they do, if I had not made the trial. But expe- 
rience has corrected my judgment ; for I find, by 
this course, that my people are better pleased, as 
well as more edified. It is true, almost ail have the 
scriptures in their hands ; but it is astonishing how 
little the greatest part of them know of their con- 
tents. It is also almost incredible how little an or- 



* Gastrell's Christian Institutes ; — Stevenson's Faith and 
Duty of a Christian ;— and Warden's System of revealed 
Xjteligion, are constructed in thi* manner, 



160 LECTURE XVII. 

dinary congregation is benefited by a sermon, and 
how poor an account the most attentive can some- 
times give of it, after they have heard it. One may 
perhaps preach an hour (in the manner that some 
do), and hardly one of a thousand be tht wiser or 
the better. But not so if he read but a few minutes 
in the scriptures. Besides we ought to use the scrip- 
tures as we do our prayers, not so much with a view 
to inform our heads, as to impress our hearts, and 
to advance in piety; not to learn more, but to im- 
prove what we know already. 

On these accounts, I must say, that to read the 
scriptures, and to worship more, and preach less, in 
our religious assemblies, would certainly tend more 
to cultivate the religious affections of the soul, as few 
will find themselves more edified by a sermon, than 
by a select portion of scripture. To this we may 
add, that the sermons of the present age are gener- 
ally more calculated to please and entertain the ear, 
than to work compunction in the soul, and change 
the heart. Hence the hearers almost always go away 
forming some opinion of the talents of the preacher, 
or the merits of the sermon, rather than silently me- 
ditating on the subject, and applying it to their own 
situation. Accordingly, we go to church, as we say, 
" to hear a sermon," and not to speak to God, or to 
hear God speak to us, which ought to be the prin- 
cipal ends of our attending the courts of the house 
of God*. 

* " Perhaps it were to be wished (says Voltaire, speaking 
" of Bourdalouc), that, in banishing from the pulpit that 
" false taste by which it had been debased, he had also sup- 
" pressed the custom of preaching upon a text. In reality, 
" to speak a good while upon a quotation of one or two lines* 
" to weary one's self in accommodating the whole discourse 
" to that line, seems to be a practice little suiting the grav- 
" itv of a divine. The text is a kind of device, or rather 



LECTURE XVII. 161 

But whether we lecture, or preach, or read the 
scriptures, as a wise steward will not only give his 
household their food in due season, but also give 
each his due portion, so ought we. The word of 
truth, which we must divide aright, consists of law 
and gospel, of promises and precepts, of grace and 
duty, of terror and joy. Some of those who are 
to be nourished with this spiritual food are babes, 
who must be fed with milk : Others are grown up, 
and must be fed with stronger meat. Wandering- 
souls are to be gathered in, unstable ones are to be 
settled, secure sinners are to be alarmed, backsliders 
are to be admonished, reproved, or threatened, as 
their cases* respectively require; and the weary and 
heavy laden are to be raised and supported. In do- 
ing all this, we must use the utmost plainness and 
impartiality. We must not slay the souls that should 
not die, nor save the souls alive that should not live. 
We must neither despise the lowest, nor yet fear the 
highest of the sons of men. Who is there indeed 
of whom we should be afraid ? Shall an ambassador 
of the King of kings be overawed, or afraid to de 
clare his message before any of his fellow-worms, 
the children of men ! If he should, he must be ut- 
terly unworthy of the high trust reposed in him. It 
is not cowards, but soldiers, that God hath occasi- 
on for in his holy warfare. 

To glorify God, by saving souls, should be the 
only end in our view. And, to attain to this, we 
ought to exert all our faculties, and lay out all our 
talents ; to be above the fear of man, and to declare 
the whole counsel of God, without concealing or 

" enigma, to be explained by the sermon* This custom was 
«' unknown to the Greeks and Romans. It arose upon the 
" decline of letters, and has been consecrated by time." 
Life of Louis Xlf^. 

Fas est et ab hoste doceri. 
W 



16i LECTURE XVir. 

disguising one jot of it. But, alas! we are not al- 
ways what we ought to be. In all ages, there have 
been preachers of a different stamp in the church of 
God ; preachers who wished to join their own in- 
terests with those of their ministry, and to keep 
both God and the world on hand. " Servants of 
* Jesus, and slaves to your own interests and pas- 
a sions ! you make merchandise of the word of 
a God, you make merchandise of the souls of men ! 
" Behold, ye temporising preachers ! behold St. 
" Paul, and blush at your baseness. Before Felix, 
a before Drusilla, he cries, The unclean shall not 
" inherit the kingdom of God ! Had he consulted 
" with flesh and blood, he had chosen any other 
" theme but this, considering the situation in which 
" he stood at the time. But the good of souls, and 
" not his own interest, was his aim. All -penetrated 
" with a sense of the dignity of his office, he forgets 
" the grandeur of Felix ! He does more, he makes 
" Felix forget himself !* ,r The Roman governor 
trembles before the poor tent-maker of Tarsus, and 
hears with respect the censure of those crimes to 
which he knew himself addicted. Felix was addict- 
ed to pleasure, he was covetous, he was unjust; and 
therefore St. Paul preaches to him of temperance, 
righteousness, and a judgment to come, 

In mentioning this character of St. Paul, our 
thoughts are naturally called to that bishop of Milan, 
who, in this respect, copied his example so well, by 
his plain and faithful dealing with the emperor The- 
odosius, whom he debarred from the Lord's table, 
on account of an act of cruelty which he had re- 
cently committed. " With what eyes, (said St.. Am- 
" brose, meeting him at the door of his church) 
" with what eyes can you behold the temple of Him 
" who is Lord of all ? With what feet can you tread 

* Massilon. 



LECTURE XVII. 163 

" his holy place ? How can you stretch out those 
*'■* hands to receive the blessed elements, when they 
e< are yet reeking with innocent blood ? How can 
•*' you take the symbol of the precious blood into that 
** mouth, which gave out such barbarous and bloody 
" orders ? Depart, therefore, and take heed that you 
€( do not increase your first crime by the commis- 
" sion of a second." 

Thus, my brethren, should ministers discharge 
their duty with fidelity, and support the dignity "of 
their character, and of their order, and procure re- 
spect to themselves, as well as reverence to the holy 
ordinances of religion. Like the chosen men sent by 
the council of Jerusalem, they should be ready 
even to hazard their lives for the sake of the Lord 
Jesus Christ* And what though they should ac 
tually lose their lives for his sake. Shall they not 
thereby more truly find them ? In our Father^ 
house are many mansions ; and if we are driven out 
of one of them for his sake, we have little faith, in- 
deed, if we are not sure of being admitted into a 
better. It is not like the wisdom of the great Ar- 
chitect to show his friends, in the first instance, 
into the best apartment of his edifice, and disappoint 
their future expectations. No ; we are yet but in 
the portico or outer court of his building ; and if 
our enemies refuse us a share in this common apart- 
ment, and thrust us forward a little before the time, 
they do us good instead of evil, although it was not 
their purpose. The utmost malice of man can only 
kill the body. And what then? " Anytus and Me- 
" litus may kill me," said Socrates, " but cannot 
" hurt me." A faithful minister, as lie says of a 
good man, needs fear no evil, either in this or the 
future world. While he minds his duty, he may 
safely cast all other care on God. It is thus only 

* Acts xv. 25, 26, 



164 LECTURE XVII. 

that a minister may hope to secure even that esteem 
and regard of men, which some are so mucli afraid 
to lose. 

Far, however, be it from me to say, that a preach- 
er should ever give way to the spirit of railing, or 
throw out any personal reflections in his sermons. 
There is nothing from which he should keep at a 
greater distance, than this, as it would only expose 
his own faults, without correcting those of his peo- 
ple. Besides, the time and place are so sacred, that, 
to speak in this manner, would be to mispend the 
one, and profane the other. " Plato* (said Dionysius 
" who had injured him) thou wilt speak ill of me, 
" when thou art with thy philosophers in the acade- 
" my." — " God forbid (answered Plato) that we 
" should have so much time to lose in the academ}^ 
" as to speak of Dionysius." 

It is against the sin, by brethren, that we ought to 
point our arrows, and not against the person of the 
sinner*. If, indeed, the sinner shall feel himself pain- 
ed when the preacher hits his mark, who can help it ? 
He, and all alike him, should be made sensible of their 
sin and danger, though they may not wish to think 
or to hear of either. like that faithful prophet Mi- 
ca] ah, we must declare what the Lord hath spoken, 
if we should thereby incur the displeasure of Ahab. 
We are set as watchmen over the house of Israel, and 
if we give no warning of the danger which we see ap- 
proaching, the souls of multitudes may perish through 
our neglect, but their blood shall be terribly required 
at our hands another day . Our own danger, there- 
fore, and our duty, call equally loud with the neces- 
_ 

* " Father, (said Louis XIV. to a pracher who had fab 
" len into this fault) I like well enough to take my share of 
" a sermon, but do not choose to be made the subject of it/' 

Voltaire's Louis XIV. 



LECTURE XVII. ' 165 

sities of our people, for the utmost plainness and 
freedom of speech ; for if the trumpet give an un- 
certain sound, who will prepare himself for the bat- 
tle r 

Poor guilty mortals love to be soothed, and to be 
allowed to sleep on the brink of the precipice. But 
will this foolish and perverse humour, on their part, 
excuse the want of fidelity or compassion on ours ? 
What should we think of that preacher who should 
thus address his hearers ? " My dear flock, you wish 
u to perish quietly ; perish so. You hate to have 
" your consciences disturbed in your sinful courses ; 
ki you may then pursue them without any let or mo- 
" testation from me. I would not for the world of- 
i; fend you, or torment you before the time. From this 
" day forward, I shall touch on none of your sins ; I 
" shall only treat of vague and general subjects, and 
" that too in a manner that will by no means alarm 
a you. Some diseased minds, I know, are ready to 
" take offence, when the preacher thought of giving 
" no cause. Conscious of having merited reproof, 
" they imagine that what is said is aimed at them- 
" selves. But I will guard as much as possible against 
a offending even these. I will cast all my harmless 
" darts so wide of the mark, as to raise no suspicion, 
" even in such, of their having been designed for 
" them. Thus, my dear flock, we shall live together 
" in amity and peace, neither disturbing nor disturb- 
" ed." 

Yes, " Men may live Fools, but fools they cannot 
" c/ie." We may sacrifice our duty to a base com- 
plaisance, a slavish fear, and live in a sinful league 
with our people ; but will they answer for us when 
we come to die, or will they stand between us and 

# '* Si cujus igitur sermo non pungit, sed obleclationem 
*' facit audientibus, iste non est sermo sapientes, verba quippc 
" sapient ium ut stimuli," Jerom. 



166 LECTURE xvn. 

the wrath of Jehovah when we come to be judged ? 
No ; this they dare not promise ; on this we dare not 
rely. We must, therefore, deal plainly by the souls 
*)f men, whether they will be pleased or not. A re- 
gard to God, to duty and to truth, and a conscious- 
ness of having acted our part as we ought, should 
more than balance every other consideration. Yes, 
my brethren, when we cannot please God and men, 
we cannot be at a loss whose favour we ought to 
prefer. It is to God, our master and our judge, that 
we are to approve ourselves, and not to men, how- 
ever rich or great. Yet, even from these, a faithful 
reproof will get more love and honour at the last 
than a sinful silence, or a criminal dissimulation. 
The Baptist reproved Herod, for which Herod rever- 
enced the faithful Baptist. Paul reproved the dissi- 
mulation of Peter, yet Peter commended the wisdom 
of his reprover. Luther reproved Calvin, for which 
Calvin called Luther a faithful servant of God. 
The bold and elegant Chrysostom reproved, with 
unparalleled severity, that mighty city of which he 
had the pastoral charge, and, in the most solemn 
manner, told it's inhabitants, that out of all their 
thousands he could scarcely hope, if they went on, 
that even one hundred souls could be saved I And 
how r did this people receive so dreadful a censure ? 
Did they hate the man who gave it, did they perse- 
cute him, did they kill him ? No ; on the contrary, 
when he was persecuted by the Herodias of the times, 
they prayed, "that the sun might rather withdraw 
" his beams, than that the mouth of faithful Chry- 
* sostom should be stopped." 

Further, in the texture of our sermons, and in the 
discharge of our duty, we should divest ourselves 
not only of all respect of persons, but also of all the 
ties of blood and relation. It is to the eternal ho- 
nour of Levi, that Moses records of him, in this sense, 
that lie said unto his father, and to his mother, I have 



LECTURE XV IT. 167 

not seen him, neither did he acknowledge his brethren, 
nor knew his own children. Thus should ministers of 
the gospel be free of all partiality, prejudice and pas- 
sion, if they wish to be accounted faithful stewards in 
the house of God. With a single eye to the glory of 
God and the good of souls, they should go through 
every part of their function. 

When we say that a minister should be faithful 
in declaring all the counsel of God, we must observe, 
that, before he can discharge this part of the duty 
aright, he must be irreproachable in regard to his 
own morals. He can never reprove with boldness 
or success those things to which he himself is addict - 
ed, nor can he warmly recommend those virtues and 
graces, to which he himself is a stranger. Lamenta- 
ble, indeed, is the case of that minister who thus 
dares not, for shame, inculcate every duty, and re- 
prove every sin with freedom : But altogether des- 
perate is his condition, if, with horrid unfaithfulness^ 
he either conceals or explains away any necessary 
truth, in order to reconcile his wicked conduct to 
his holy calling. A minister must, therefore, be 
blameless, a minister must be pious, a minister must 
be holy, before he can preach to his people their dui 
ty in it's full Spirit and extent. Otherwise, his preach- 
ing is a satire upon himself ; it is, according to the 
proverb, as if Satan should reprove sin. 

A faithful minister, 1 will yet add, will not only 
preach the gospel of God in all it's Spirit and extent, 
without any human or selfish regard, and give, in 
his life, a true comment on his sermons, but will al- 
so urge every message which he delivers, chiefly by 
arguments and motives derived from the gospel itself # „ 
" When we preach what is the result of mere human 
" reason, we practically declare that we have no high 

* (t How oft, when Paul has served us with a text, 
" HasEpictetus, Plato, Tully preack'd." Cowpbk 



168 LECTURE XVII. 

" esteem for the gospel, and have forgot our com- 
" mission as ambassadors of Christ. It would be rec- 
" konecl arrogant presumption even in the ambassa^ 
" dor of an earthly prince, should he exceed his in- 
" struct! 6ns, and betake himself to his own sagacity 
" in adjusting the differences of his sovereign with 
" neighbouring states. And can an ambassador com- 
" missioned by him in whom are hid all the treasures 
" of wisdom and knowledge, be thus unfaithful, 
" without the most daring and impious insolence ? 
u He bids fairest to preach with success, who preach- 
" es in words, not of man's wisdom, but which the 
" Holy Ghost teachetht." A faithful minister knows, 
u that " the great God is jealous of the honour of his 
" Son Jesus, and will not condescend to bless any o 
" ther mean than that which he hath established for 
a saving sinners. If the prophets mil not stand in his 
"counsel, nor cause the people to hear his words, they 
" will never be able to- turn Israel from the iniquity of 
" their ways, nor the evil of their doings. No, my 
11 brother, had you all the philosophy of Socrates, 
iC the knowledge of Plato, and the morals of Epicte- 
a tus ; were you furnished with all the flowing ora- 
" tory of Cicero, and with Dernosthenes's thunder ; 
" and could you employ all these talents in every 
li sermon you preach, yet you could have no reason - 
6i able hope of saving one soul by all these, without 
" the aids of the gospel. It is the gospel alone that is 
€< the power of God unto salvation. And though e- 
« very sort of weapon may be used, and ought to 
tC be used in it's proper place, to make assaults on the 
kingdom of Satan ; yet it is only through the blood 
of the Lamb that we can obtain the victory — 
Though every balm may be applied to our 
wounds, it is the gospel alone that can furnish us 
with those sovereign remedies, that can heal the 



»i 



t Dr. Erskine's Svn. Scrm, 



LECTURE XVII, ]&# 

*' diseases of the soul, and reform mankind. Unless, 
" therefore, you have such an high esteem for the 
" gospel of Christ, and such a sense of it's divine 
" worth and power, as to take it along with you in 
" all your efforts to save souls, you had better lay 
" down the ministry, and abandon your sacred pro- 
" fession, for you will but spend your strength for 
" nought, and waste your breath in vain declama- 
" tion. You will neither save your own soul, nor 
'* those that hear you ; and you will have a terrible 
" account to give at the last day, of what you have 
" done with this gospel, which God did you the ho- 
" nour to put you in trust with, for the salvation of 
" soulsV 

Besides deriving the arguments or motives by which 
we enforce our message, chiefly from the gospel, it 
is likewise of much consequence that we shall gene- 
rally make use of scriptural language. It is from not 
attending to this, that the christian church has been 
so often distressed with unhappy divisions and keen 
disputes. All parties agree about the text, and dif- 
fer only about some modes of explanation. Terms of 
art have been invented to express this or that doc- 
trine or mystery in the word of God, which had 
better have been let alone in the simplicity, or, if you 
will, in the obscurity, in which God himself hath 
left them. Attempts have been made to pass those 
terms as current coin upon the world : But such 
attempts have been as often opposed ; as God, in or- 
der to guard the human mind from error, has im- 
planted in it a strong jealousy of innovations in re- 
ligion, and an extreme aversion to that tyranny with 
which some men would lord it over the conscience. 
Hence the theological disputes and the religious wars 
which have long infested, and still infest, the church 

* Watts's Humble Attempt towards the revival of practi- 
cal religion, 

x 



!7£ lecture xvn 

of Christ. The inventions of men, and not the m 
relation of God, are the ordinary cause of them. 
For if, in all disputed points, men would satisfy them- 
selves with using only the language of scripture, and 
not affect to be wise above what is written, all par- 
ties might soon be reconciled. 

Therefore, my brethren, let us, at least in all mat- 
ters of dispute, adhere invariably to the language 
and mode of expression used in the scriptures. Let 
us not presume to attempt the explaining or defin- 
ing of what has not been explained or defined by 
the inspired writers, lest we draw on? ourselves the 
curse denounced against those who would add to the 
word of God. Let us not attempt to impose & 
hardship on the consciences of men, which God 
himself hath not imposed^, lest we shall be found ex- 
alting ourselves in the place of God, and warring 
against him in his holy temple. Let us remember it 
is not only the peace of others, but our own happiness? 
too, that is concerned. Therefore, to secure both 7 
and to avoid giving offence to- God or man, it is sure- 
ly worth while to hold, in every dark or disputed 
point, by the express and identical language of scrip 
ture, which will answer every purpose of edification. 
A plain man, who seeks his religion only in his 
Bible, and reads that sacred volume with no other 
view than to* know and perform his duty, will meet 
with very few things at which he will stumble. A 
good man, who had taken this course with comfort, 
for the most of his life, fell in at length with a book 
which pretended to explain a great many difficulties 
and mysteries, which hitherto be had not observed. 
From this he passed to another, which gave a quite 
different account of such matters. As he under- 
stood neither so well as his Bible, he took down a 
long list of their learned words and hard terms, in- 
order to examine what was said of them in the scrip- 
tures. But, in the scriptures, to his astonishment. 



LECTURE XVTI. 171 

lie could find no such expressions ; nor did he appre- 
hend such darkness in the doctrines, as in the pre- 
tended explanations. The fools, said he, are fight- 
ing about their own fictions, and the water that was 
pure is soiled by their footsteps. I will leave their 
polluted streams to themselves, and return again to 
the fountain. O God, who knowest all things, thou 
knowest I love thee, and sincerely desire to know 
thy will, as revealed in the holy scriptures. If in any 
thing I err, thou knowest it is owing to the weak- 
ness of my powers, and not to the perverseness of 
my heart. I trust, therefore, 1 know so much of 
thy nature as to make me sure of one thing, that 
thou wilt, through Jesus Christ, pity this weak- 
ness, and not charge me with guilt for my involunta- 
ry and invincible ignorance. Let others, therefore, 
dispute ; I will love, adore, and obey, which, I am 
.satisfied, will, through the merits of my Saviour,, 
procure me thy favour and acceptance. 



LECTURE XVIiL 



That a minister of the gospel should study clearness of 
Method and Plainness of Stile. 

TO teach and to persuade men to be holy is the 
end proposed by preaching. To attain this end, the 
preacher's business in a sermon is, to explain con- 
vince, and to move the passions. Whatever subject 
he treats of, the first point is, to make the nature of 
it clear and plain to the understanding : The next 
is, by solid and clear, and strong proofs, to convince 
thejudgment : And the last is, to move the passions, 
and to persuade to what he proposes. To attend to 
this order is of the utmost importance to the sacred 
orator, as much of the success of his preaching, hu- 
manly speaking, must depend upon it ; for how 
should he hope to persuade a rational being to any 
thing he proposes, till he make him first understand 
what it is, and see that it is his interest to take his 
counsel. Attention to the order just now laid down 
will likewise direct to the stile and delivery proper 
for each part of the sermon. The stile of the first 
should be simple, easy, and unadorned ; that of the 
second, clear, strong, and forcible ; and that of the 
third, more lively, ornamented, and pathetic. In 
like manner, the delivery of the first should be calm, 
soft and insinuating, much the same as in conversa 
tion ; of the second, slow, firm, and determined ; 
and of the third, more quick, warm, and passionate. 
In a word, the language and delivery should be suc- 
cessively adapted to the understanding, thejudgment, 
and the passions ; for these are successively addres- 
sed 



LECTURE XVIII. 173 

Li laying down your method, you must observe 
that your division of the subject be natural, the 
transitions easy, the connection clear, the introduc- 
tion and conclusion short and pertinent. Let your 
heads be few, and never run into each other, nor 
digress to any thing foreign. Let all your heads,and 
all your arguments under them, conspire to one fix- 
ed determinate point, by rhetoricians called unity. — 
If you offer to divert the attention from one thing to 
another, you fix it on nothing ; and you will neither 
engage nor interest it. Every thing, therefore, that 
you advance, must, like all the oxen in the team, 
draw exactly the same way, and directly tend to the 
same point. The not attending to this is the reason 
ihat so many sermons produce so little effect upon 
the hearers. 

Having fixed your method, you are next to choose 
and rank your arguments * Let these be strong ra* 
ther than many. Too many will tire ; and the 
weak, like the equipage of an Eastern march, will 
only incommode the strong, and hurt the cause, 
which does not at all need them. Place your 
strongest arguments last, and the less powerful in 
the middle, rather than in the front. Offer no proof 
of what is self-evident or believed already, lest you 
should shake the faith that is already firm. For the 
same reason, you are to raise no objections. These 
will be remembered when your answer is forgotten ; 
and if your people know only the truth, and do it, 
they are surely happy in their ignorance of error. 

Whatever arguments or illustrations you make 
use of, you must observe, that they be not only 
strong, but clear and easily comprehended. Every 
word of them must be plain, and the subject from 
which they are taken familiar. Your chief proofs, 
however, must always rest on the sacred scriptures. 
Short and plain reasonings, founded on their autho- 



I74t LECTURE XVill. 

rity, are always the most likely to produce Convic- 
tion ; for such is the Holy Spirit's teaching-. 

But while you are thus solicitous about your mat- 
ter, you must not divest yourself of all care about 
your language. This, however, for your greater 
ease, (by the division of labour), ought not to be 
thought of till you have first jotted down your mat- 
ter. Then when you come to the composition of 
your sermons, you ought neither to affect a pom 
pous diction, nor yet descend to the low and mean 
stile. Yeu should not be slovenly, nor yet show 
much labour and art. A certain majestic simplicity 
best becomes an ambassador of Jesus. In this, as in 
every thing else, Jesus himself hath left us an ex 
ample. In all his discourses, what a beautiful sim* 
plicity, mixed with incomparable dignity and majes- 
ty ! All the inspired writings indeed are marked with 
perspicuity and plainness, as their distinguishing cha- 
racter, when prophecy and mystery require not some 
veil to be thrown over them. Hence it is the pecu- 
liar excellence of scripture, that almost every sen- 
tence of it, taken single and detached, is no less 
beautiful and useful, than when considered in it's 
connection with that whole of which it is a part. 
You may break the golden chain, and derange it's 
beautiful contexture ; but the links are the same pre- 
cious metal still. You will find in every sentence 
some useful maxim or example, for the conduct of 
life, or some special consolation under it's trials. In 
this we may discover the admirable mercy, as well as 
wisdom, of the spirit that inspired the scriptures. 
They were designed for general usefulness ; but the 
generality of mankind, either from incapacity or in- 
attention, cannot discern the beauty, scope, and con- 
nection of a long argument or chain of reasoning, 
which the subject rendered sometimes necessary — 
Yet even then, every single sentence is forcible and 
pointed, and calculated both by the plainness of the 



LECTURE XVIH. 173 

language, and the importance of the subject, to lay 
hold of the memory, and improve the heart. In the 
composition of our sermons, we should study the 
same simplicity and clearness. Our subjects are, or 
ought to be, almost always plain. Our language,, 
too, like a transparent stream, should at once reveal 
our meaning, and be as perspicuous as possible. Eve- 
ry word which we utter should be understood by the 
most ignorant and unlearned of our heareFS ; and the 
sense of the whole, i( like the light of the sun, should 
c « obtrude itself upon his eyes, not only without any 
" pains to search for it, but, as it were^ whether he 
" will or not*." Except ye utter words easy to be 
understood, says the apostle, ye speak into the air. 
Your people, or at least the bulk of them, will 
reap no benefit, and you cannot be surprised, if, after 
frequent disappointments, they should attend but sel- 
dom. 

It is necessary, therefore, my brethren, to put our- 
selves in the place of the lowest of our hearers ; to 
consider that what is clear and familiar to us, may 
be dark and strange to him ; and to say nothing that 
is not level to his capacity. In doing this, we may 
easily avoid all words that are mean and vulgar, so a& 
to make our discourse no less useful to the highest 
than the lowest understanding \ for the matter that 
will suit the one will equally suit the other ; they 
have both the same exigencies. If they had not, the 
poor and ignorant have always the forst claim, for 
they generally make the greatest number. From 
both, it is true, we might obtain more admiration 
and applause by following a different course. But 
our business is not to get applause to ourselves, but 
glory to God, and good to our people. Our busi 
ncss is to make men think, not of our eloquence, 
but of their own souls ? to attend, not to our fin© 



* Quinetil. !.*, 



176 LECTURE XVIII. 

language, but to their own everlasting interest. One 
of the ancient fathers used to weep when his hearers 
applauded his sermon. " Would to God," said he, 
" they had rather gone away silent and thoughtful !" 
He considered serious and deep reflection on their 
own state to be the best effect of a discourse upon the 
hearers, and the best commendation of the preacher. 
That great monarch, who so finely complimented 
the eloquent bishop of Clermont, seems to have been 
of the same opinion. " Father," said he, " I have 
" heard many great orators, and heard them with 
" pleasure ; but for you, whenever I hear you, I go 
" away displeased with myself, for I see more of my 
" own character." 

Do we wish, my brethren, that our sermons 
should produce the like effect ? Then let us not ex- 
pect it from the ostentation of learning, or from the 
parade of eloquence. Our fine flowing sentences, 
and well-turned periods few will be able to follow to 
the end, or to understand ; and if they should, will 
be little the better. The ear, indeed, may be pleased, 
but the mind and heart will be as ignorant and un- 
reformed as ever. Therefore let your words be all 
plain and clear, your sentences generally isliort, or, 
if at any time somewhat long, never dark Or per- 
plexed. Never be careless, neither be artificial. — 
Never multiply words without cause ; for they will- 
only serve to hide your meaning, perhaps to impair 
it ; as the fruit is seldom abundant where the foliage 
is too luxuriant. Never show your learning at the 
expence of perspicuity, nor use any ornament at the 
expenee of utility. Rhetorical flourishes, if used at 
all, must be scattered with a very sparing hand. 
" Like red and yellow flowers in corn, they may be 
* agreeable to the man who comes only for amuse- 
c; ment; but prejudicial to him that would reap the 
u profit." Yes, my brethren, these are no better 
than tares which the enemy sows among the good 



LECTURE xvnt. V77 

Seed, however different may be the opinion of some 
gay preachers, who would rather recommend them- 
selves than their Saviour, and who would rather 
have their hearers admire their language than take 
their counsel. I know that such fine preachers, full 
of their own importance, and buoyed up with the 
pride of what they suppose to be superior talents, 
will be apt, with the poet, to 
" Scorn the vile mob, which kno\rs not right from wrong*/' 

But it should be remembered, that those poor people, 
who make the bulk of most congregations, though 
no judges of fine composition, have precious souls ; 
and that these souls can never be saved by preaching 
the gospel to them in an unknown tongue. 

The best preacher, by which I mean the most 
useful, is always the most plaint. " I love," says 
the archbishop of Cambray, " a plain, serious preach- 
" er, who speaks for my sake, and not for his own ; 
" who seeks my salvation, and not his own vain 
" glory." It is true, such a preacher may not al- 
ways have praise from men, who often admire most 
what they least understand J. But his words, aimed 
directly at the heart 7 will take effect when those of the 
learned declaimer, like arrows shot in the air, will pass 

* Rejice degenerem vulgum, nil lucis habentem. Vida- 
And Robinson on Claude. 

f Optimi ad vulgus hi sunt concionatores, qui pueriliter, 
populariter, et simplicissime docent. Luther. 

$ Docente te in ecclesia, non clamor populi, sedgemitus, 
suscitetur ; lacrymae auditorum laudestuae sint. Verba vol. 
verc, et celeritate dicendi apud imperitum vulgus admira. 
tionem facere, indoctorum hominumest. Nil tarn facile quam 
vilem plebiculam et indoctam concione linguceque volubili- 
tate decipirc ; quiaquicquid nonintelligit plus miratur. Jk- 
rom. ad Ncpot- 

Y 



US lecture xvrir. 

over the heads of his hearers, and only amuse their 
ears with an empty tinkling sound*. To see a pas- 
tor harangue in this manner, when 

" The hungry sheep look up and are not fed/' 

is one of the most pitiable scenes in nature. It puts 
one in mind of the tabled misery of Tantalus, whose 
parched lips were not permitted to taste of that 
stream which perpetually murmured before him. 
Such a preacher may perhaps be complimented as 
a deep reasoner and an able logician ; but, alas I 
this is a poor equivalent for starving the souls of 
his hearers, by neglecting to give them that plain and 
nourishing bread <whiih came down from heaven. 
How different was the conduct of the great reformer 
Luther I In the life of this learned man, written by 
Adams, there are inserted some of those homely 
rhymes which he composed for the sake of the vulgar. 
u For these beggarly ballads," says a late writert, 
" Luther may receive a greater reward at the last 
" day, than for whole shelves of learned folios. Va- 
is nity will make a man speak and write learnedly 5 
" but piety only can prevail on a good scholar to sim- 
" plify his speech for the sake of the vulgar. Such 
** a preacher, however contemptible now, will one 
u day have a name above every name, whether it be 
" philosopher, poet, orator, or whatever is most re- 
u vered among mankind." And if we, my brethren, 
wish this honour to be ours, we must study not 

* Suprema illt concionandi lex erat populi salus. Neque 
id ille in concione egit ut audifcorurn aures inani verboruiji 
tinnitu deliniret - r sed ut res utilissimas suaviter in illoruin 
pectora insinuaret ; ut ad auditorum captum, sermonem su- 
um attemperaret ♦, eorumque adeo fidem ac pietatem unics 
promoveret* Vita Laur. Chardelon. 

t Robinson on Claude's Essay 



LECTURE XVJH. 179 

50 much to please, as to profit ; not so much to charm 
the ear, as to feed the soul and mend the heart. And 
to encourage us to this, we shall generally, if not al- 
ways, find, that he will please his hearers most, who 
makes it least his aim. 

Above all, " if we would attain to the true stile 
u and eloquence of sermons, we must cherish an 
u inward sense of the importance and excellency 
" of sacred truths, and cultivate a strong feeling of 
" all the virtues. For when our own hearts have once 
*' felt the warmth of divine things, it will be easy for 

* us to transfuse it into the breasts of others. The 
" inward feelings of a good heart have a natural 
€i eloquence accompanying them, which can never 
" be equalled by laboured and studied ornament, 
" The heart, really and justly moved, never fails to 
Ci dictate a language plain and easy, full of natural and 
cc continued vigour, which has nothing in it soft^ 
u nothing languishing ; all is nervous and strong, 
and does not so much please the ear, as ravish and 
66 fill the heart. Further, let it be taken notice of 

* as a thing of the utmost importance, that sincerity 
" alone, and a real desire to instruct and persuade^ 
" will banish all affectation, either of sentiment or 
" language. This is evident from the conduct of 
" mankind in circumstances in which they are in 
" earnest. For instance, a wise, virtuous, and pious 
u parent, when he has a near prospect of entering 
4i into an invisible world, and only so much strength 
" remaining as to enable him to give his last and dy- 
" ing instructions to his beloved children who stand 
u weeping around him ; will he study to express him- 
m self with artificial eloquence, and industriously 
" search for glittering ornament ? Surely he will 
tC not. Or, if he should, how absurd, nay, how 

* shocking and monstrous would his conduct appear 
" to every impartial spectator? The application is 
" easy, and there is no occasion for insisting on it, 



180 



LECTURE XVIII. 



" Allow me then to close this part of the subject 
" with observing, that this divine eloquence cannot 
cc be acquired merely by human learning and skill in. 
a the choice and arrangement of words, but by a 
■ l powerful feeling of what is great and good, produ- 
" ced in us by the holy spirit of God*." 

* Prin, Lcechman's Syp. Sen 






LECTURE XIX. 

Thai a Minister of the Gospel should attend much to 
his Enunciation and Action hi the Delivery of lm 
Sermons. 

THE best judges among the ancients have repre- 
sented delivery as the principal part of an orator's pro- 
vince. They tell us, that it is not of so much mo- 
ment what our compositions are, as how they are 
delivered. And, therefore, they scruple not to affirm, 
that an indifferent discourse, properly set off, will 
have a greater effect upon an audience, than the 
finest composition, when destitute of this advantage. 
Much, therefore, of a preacher's success and power 
of persuasion will depend on his delivery. All his 
preparative labour and study are subservient to this 
end, and will only have so much value as this will 
stamp on them. 

f This is the last key stone, 

" That makes the arch. The rest, that there were put, 
'* Are nothing, till this comes to bind and shut." 

With what may be requisite to a good delivery, i 
suppose, my brethren, you are already acquainted, 
"so that 1 need not enter much into the subject. 1 
shall only suggest a few hints, and call you to a di- 
ligent cultivation of the art, which has no dfficulty 
that may not be conquered by application ; for it is 
on ali hands allowed, that though a poet must be 
born one, an orator may be made*. The first re- 
quisite, then, is to speak so as to be heard with ease 

* Nascitur poefca, fit orator. 



182 Lecture xix. 

by the most distant of your audbnce, otherwise to 
them you speak in vain. You are not, however, to 
go to the other extreme, and strain your voice more 
than is necessary ; for this would have the appear- 
ance of being painful to yourself, and would, there- 
fore, be uneasy and disgustful to others. To speak 
audibly enough, you must observe, that it is not at 
all so necessary to speak loud as to be full, distinct 
and deliberate, and to keep your voice from sinking 
too much when a sentence is near a close. It is bet- 
ter to begin the following period a degree lower than 
you concluded the former. 

The next requisite to a good delivery, is a proper 
and graceful pronunciation, including the just use of 
pauses, tones, and emphases. This part of delivery 
is best learned from attending to such as speak the 
language with most propriety, whether in conversa- 
tion or in public. You must avoid imitating any 
particular person's voice or manner, which would 
make you appear affected, if not awkward. You 
must avoid all monotony, whether it be that of 
pronouncing every w T ord with uniform languor, or 
uniform force and energy ; for both would equally 
tire and fatigue the attention of the hearers. You 
must avoid singing or chaunting, which will disgust all 
but the very weakest, and cannot, surely, make them 
in the smallest degree the wiser or the better. On 
the contrary, by diverting the attention from the 
subject to the sound, they are made listless, or per- 
haps lulled asleep, as children, by a song. This is 
tke natural effect of a sing-song or cant, and perhaps 
the true reason that makes it (by relieving the atten- 
tion) so acceptable to the lowest and weakest people 
and so much practised by weak and designing speak- 
ers. To say the best of it, it is but making sound 
pass instead of sense ; "just as cripples get on horse- 
" back," said an ancient orator, " in order to con- 
" ceal their lameness." Setting this trick aside, then 



LECTURE XIX. 183 

address your people as you would do a friend, when 
you would inform or persuade him in a matter 
of vast moment, only with more deliberativeness ? 
energy and warmth, in proportion to the numbers 
you may have occasion to speak to. 

A third requisite to a good delivery, is proper 
gesture and action, that }^ou may not offend the eye, 
any more than the ear, in your preaching. By pro- 
per gesture and action, I mean such as will appear 
natural, fit easy on the speaker, please the hearer, and 
suit the subject. In your gesture and action, you 
should avoid being light, affected, or theatrical. 
The posture of the body should not change every 
moment, nor should it be long in the same position. 
The features of the face should not be any way dis- 
torted, the mouth writhed, the lips bit or licked, the 
shoulders shrugged, nor the belly thrust out. All 
coughing, spitting, hemming, and the like, should 
be avoided as much as possible. The head should 
be kept in it's natural and erect position. It should 
not be without any motion, nor always moving ; but 
should gently turn, sometimes to the one side, some- 
times to the other, and then return to it's natural pos- 
ture. It should be on the same side with the action of 
the hands, except in expressing aversion. The eyes 
should be directed always to some of the audience, 
turning softly and respectfully from one side to ano 
ther, and looking the hearers decently in the face, as 
in ordinary conversation. In appeals to heaven, 
however, or in speaking of heaven, they should turn 
up ; and in speaking of earth or hell, turn down. 
The hands should seldom be altogether idle. They 
should correspond in their motion to each other ; 
and if only one be used, it may rather be the right. 
Their action should correspond to the subject, unit- 
ing or separating, raising W depressing, as that re- 
quires. They should never be lifted above the eyes, 
and seldom higher than the shoulders. The arms 



184 LECTURE XIX. 

should not extend very far from the sides, and nei- 
ther elbow should rest upon the pulpit. 

To these observations on gesture and action, I 
must add one or two cautions. You are to avoid 
overacting, which is worse than no action at all. 
You are to avoid an uniform warmth and energy 
throughout ; it is improper when you explain and in- 
form ; you must reserve it till you begin to persuade 
and to address the passions. Even then you must 
spread no more sail than your helm can easily com- 
mand, lest you should not be able to rule your spi- 
rit in " the storm and tempest of passion.' 7 You must 
especially take care to warm and rise gradually, and 
never go faster or farther than you find your hearers 
disposed to follow you ; for if they are cold while 
you appear to be warm, they will be offended and 
disgusted ; especially if you have w r armed yourself by 
mere vehemence of speech or action, and not by 
moving the affections by rational and solid argument. 

Upon the whole, you must endeavour in the deli- 
very of your sermons, to make every expression of 
voice and gesture, of speech and action, unite in two 
general characters essentially requisite. These are 
solemnity and earnestness, or gravity and warmth. 
Solemnity and gravity suit the nature of your subject 
and office, and earnestness and warmth are necessary 
to impress and persuade your hearers. An eternity 
of happiness and misery which is depending, renders 
both of them highly becoming. In the pulpit there- 
fore, be always solemn, always earnest ; at times ve^ 
hement, never violent. Even in ordinary conversa 
tion, you must guard against transgressing the rules 
of gesture and pronunciation, and study to acquire a 
correct, graceful, and proper manner. Thus your 
delivery will appear natural, without any thing in it 
constrained or forced. Above all things, you must 
as we have more than once observed already, be at 
the greatest pains to cultivate the strongest feelings o. 



LECTURE XIX. 185 

religion ; then, from the abundance of the heart* 
the mouth readily speaketh. 

Yet, after all, the difficulty of acquitting ourselves 
well in this department of our office, is exceeding 
great ; and even good men fail in it so often, that 
we must cry out, Who is sufficient for these things ? 
The excellencies which must combine, before a iiian 
can succeed or arrive at eminence in this art, are so 
many, that it is no wonder that they should be found 
in one man so seldom. A good figure, a graceful 
manner, a full and pleasant voice, an expressive 
countenance, a pious soul and a feeling heart, must 
all be joined to much sense, much learning, much 
study and and a good life, to make the sacred orator 
thoroughly furnished for this part of his office. In 
this part of our office, therefore, we should be more 
particularly careful to implore the divine assistance 
to bless our best endeavours, from the deepest con • 
viction that our sufficiency is not of ourselves. If Pe- 
ricles, who was said to thunder and lighten in his 
harangues, never ventured to speak in public in 
Athens, till he had first prayed to the gods to assist 
him, how much more should a minister of the gos* 
pel, when he goes forth on a business of such import- 
ance, implore the divine aid by fervent prayer. 

O God, in whose hands are the hearts of all men, and 
who turnest them, as rivers of water, whithersoever 
thou pkaseth, I go forth on this day in thy name ; 
send, O send, prosperity ! I go forth on the errand 
of thy Son, my Master, to persuade the souls for 
whom he died to be reconciled to thee, through his 
blood, and be saved ; O send, I beseech thee, for his 
sake, send good speed this day ! O let not my wan- 
dering sheep be lost, let not my prodigal children per- 
ish ! Let not the blood of the Son of God, so far as 
it concerns them, be shed to no purpose ! O send the 
spirit of thy light and truth to guide thy servant, who 
goes forth on this day in search of them ; send the 

Z 



186 LECTURE XYlTt. 

spirit of thy t presence to enable him to bring them 
home ! Thou hast made the mouth and the tongue, 
and from thee alone is the power of persuasion ; 
give, therefore, a word in season, that sinners may 
hear thy servant's voice, and obey it ! Then shall this 
be a day of gladness in heaven ; and, " The dead's 
* alive, the lost is found," shall be the song of ten 
thousand angels. Transporting thought ! it makes 
thy servant go in his way rejoicing. O may it please 
the most high to send the spirit he hath promised 
with me, and own the weakest and most unworthy 
of his servants on this day, so as to make him the 
instrument in his hand to save souls. Then will the 
excellency of the power appear indeed to have been 
of God. Yes ; the power and the glory for ever 
shall be thine, O Father of Mercies ! who hast no 
pleasure in the death of sinners. Take pity, there- 
fore, on my poor perishing flock, and save them. O 
make bare thine arm, and let them feel this as a day 
of thy power on their souls ! Art not thou he that did 
wonders of mercy and of love of old ? Where is thy 
zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels, and 
thy mercies ? Are they restrained ? O may the peo- 
ple to whom I speak on this day, feel, from their own 
experience, that thy mercy endureth for ever ! May 
the Redeemer ride triumphantly in the chariot of 
the gospel on this day ; may the gates of brass be 
broken before him, and the bars of iron be cut a- 
sunder ; and may the people to whom I speak own 
that he hath prevailed ! May this be the day of ran- 
som to their souls, and may they with glad hosan- 
nahs welcome the Son of David ! O thou Holy Spi- 
rit ! come ; come with thy enlightening, convincing, 
converting and sanctifying power. Impress the souls 
of sinners with a sense of their guilt, and give them 
a clear sight of their danger. Bind the stubborn will to 
the obedience of the gospel, and make this people wil- 
ling in the day of thy power. O thou who didst 



LECTURE XIX, 187 

brood on the face of the deep, and bring light and 
order out of darkness and confusion, a beautiful cre- 
ation out of an indigested chaos, work with the same 
almighty energy on the hearts of the people, to whom 
I am about to speak, that they may be created anew, 
after the image of him who made them ! Breathe, 
breathe on these dry bones, that they may live ; 
quicken these dead souls, that all heaven may rejoice, 
and the first born sons of creation unite with these 
new-born babes, in singing praises to him who sitteth 
on the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever ! 

Yes, my brethren, in this part of our duty, after im- 
ploring the divine assistance, w^e should conjure up 
all our spirit, summon forth all the energy which our 
souls are possessed of, and study to make our man* 
ner, as well as our matter, keep alive the attention, 
and impress the hearts of our hearers. We should 
make it appear, that our business is important, and 
that we are indeed in earnest. Our inward concern 
should break forth through every pore, and without 
any thing light, theatrical, or extravagant, give life 
and animation to every tone of our voice, and to 
every feature of our countenance. Then only may 
we hope to impress others, when they see that we 
are deeply impressed ourselves. '* If you wish me 
" to weep, you must first weep yourself," is an 
aphorism as true as it is old. It is indeed a thing al- 
together inexcusable in a minister of the gospel to 
be unaffected and cold, when he is preaching the 
doctrines of salvation. A concern for the souls of 
men, and a sense of his accountableness to that Great 
Being in whose work he is engaged, ought, if he has 
any feeling at all, to inspire him with such awe and 
solemnity, and zeal and earnestness of soul, as cannot 
fail to be observed by his hearers. And wherever 
these are discovered, their effects are obvious. The 
passion runs, by secret sympathy, from soul to soul : 



188 LECTURE XlX. 

and the interested audience feel all the emotion of the 
preacher. 

Of how much importance it is for a speaker to 
feel what he says, will plainly appear from a view of 
the different success of Tertullus and St. Paul, when 
they both pleaded before the Roman governor. — 
Tertullus must have been eminent in his profession, 
otherwise he had not been chosen by the high priest 
and elders as their pleader, upon an occasion which 
they deemed of such importance, that they them- 
selves took a long journey in order to be present at 
the trial. Yet this famous orator, with all his elo- 
quence, made no impression upon Felix ; whereas 
St. Paul moved him, alarmed him, and made him 
tremble. Why ? The one, a mere hireling, spoke 
what he did not feel, and substituted artificial instead 
of natural eloquence. The other felt, deeply felt, 
all he said ; and therefore made others feel also. 
He spoke the words of truth, the earnest, unaf- 
fected language of the heart, and therefore he pre- 
vailed*. 

Notwithstanding this instructive example, it is 
matter of deep regret, that most preachers are rather 
imitators of Tertullus than of the apostle. The elo- 
quence at which they generally aim, is rather laboured 
and artificial, than natural and easy ; and the very 
tone of voice with which they speak is too often af- 
fected ; and therefore must appear sometimes ridicu- 
lous, always awkward and unnatural. To guard 
against this fault, observe your tone and manner on 
ordinary occasions, when you are most interested and 
most in earnest. The same is that which you ought 
to have in the pulpit. If you are in earnest, it is 
what nature will dictate ; and that will always be 
the most striking, as well as the most pleasing. 

* Attcrbury's Sermons. 



lecture atfiK. 18$ 

To feel and be in earnest is the first requisite in 
the art of speaking. How eloquent is the most illi- 
terate when he pleads his own cause, and tells his 
own grievances ! To him, therefore, who feels and 
is in earnest, no artifice or imitation is necessary. 
Nature w r ill spontaneously dictate what neither art 
nor imitation can attain. But if imitate you must, 
it will be of service, in acquiring this, and every other 
excellency, to copy the best examples. Consider 
then how earnestly Christ spoke, when it was said 
of him, He is beside himself. Consider how earnestly 
the apostle spoke, when mockers alledged they were 
full of new wine. Consider how Paul spoke before 
Agrippa, Felix, and the court of Areopagus. If you 
will imitate, let these be your models ; they and na- 
ture are the same. But he who is at leisure to attend 
to an artificial tone of voice, or an artificial stile of 
language, discovers his indifference to his subject, and 
would be considered as acting a strange part in any 
other business of importance, although custom has 
made it so common in preaching, as to make us, 
in some measure, forget the impropriety. Take the fol- 
lowing instance to illustrate our observation. " My 
" neighbour had a son whom he tenderly loved, and 
a of whom he had conceived the fondest hopes. But, 
" in the dangerous season of youth, sinners entice 
" him, pleasure allures him, and his father's counsels 
" and reproofs offend him. Impatient of restraint, 
" he leaves his father's house, with a resolution to re- 
" turn no more. \a this distressful moment 1 found 
u the fond parent, under a solitary tree, sorrowful 
u and disconsolate above measure. He tells me the 
u cause of his grief, and I offer my endeavours to 
• ; bring back his son. He bids me go, and God be 
(i with me. But, in order to accomplish the desire of 
" his heart, what further directions do you think he 
ri gave me ? Did he say, " Have a care that you 
* arrange your arguments properly, and that you 



190 LECTURE XIX. 

" speak to my son in mood and figure ; for I taught 
e ' him lope? Have a care also, that you put your 
4i words in the best order, and that you turn your 
u periods artificially and nicely ; for I taught my 
* boy rhetoric ? And take care, especially, that you 
*' pronounce aright, and commit no slip in grammar, 
^ c lest you offend his ear; for I have made him a 
" grammarian ? No: instead of speaking in this un- 
'" natural manner, he only cries, Go, go and bring 
" back my child ; set j^our heart and soul, I beseech 
c6 you, on this important business, as you wish to 
" please me." Even so, my brethren, let us preach 
the gospel, and execute the commission upon which 
our Master sends us. 

Thus, my brethren, let us be in earnest, and our 
hearers cannot be unconcerned. Let us never con- 
sider a sermon as a task, and they will never consi- 
der it as a burden. Let us speak with zeal, and they 
will listen with attention. And, surely, if any thing 
in the world deserves earnestness and zeal, it is this. 
What ! are heaven and hell just at hand, and are they 
such glorious and dreadful realities as they are repre- 
sented in the gospel ? Are sinners despising the one, 
and sleeping on the brink of the other ? And are we 
sent by God to awaken them, and, as it were, to com- 
pel them to flee from wrath, and be saved ? And 
shall not so important a charge engross all our atten- 
tion ? Why do we not hasten, why do we not fie?, 
to pluck sinners as brands from the everlasting 
burnings ? Why do we not pray more fervently ; 
why do we not preach more zealously ; why do 
we not lay out our whole life, and soul, and 
strength, in this great work in which we are engag 
ed ? What ! is the salvation of immortal souls, for 
whom Christ died, worthy of no greater pains ? Is 
the honour and interest of our glorious Master worthy 
of no greater exertion ? Shaii the men of the world 
be more industrious in pursuit of gains and pleasures, 
than we in seeking the glory of Christ, and the sal- 



LECTURE X*X, 191 

ration of the souls of our people ? God forbid ! We 
are on matters of life and death, of eternal life and 
eternal death. We pray, we preach, we labour for 
eternity. Surely then it becomes us to do this with 
all our might, and not to trifle with immortal souls^ 
which are just on the confines of death, and on the 
threshold of an eternal world. 

It is the observation of an author who has never 
been suspected of enthusiasm, that " the damnation 
%i of one man is an infinitely greater evil in the uni- 
u verse, than the subversion of a thousand millions 
" of kingdoms*." On the other hand, "the eternal 
" salvation of one soul is of greater importance, and 
u big with greater events, than the temporal salva- 
u tion of an whole kingdom, though it were for the 
" space of ten thousand ages ; because, there will 
" come up a point, an instant in eternity, when that 
" one soul shall have existed as long as all the in- 
" dividuals of a whole kingdom, ranged in close 
" succession, will on the whole have existed in the 
6i space often thousand agest. 

Whoever attends to such considerations as these 7 
will hardly need to be told, that a preacher's sole aim 
and end should be to glorify God by saving souls ^ 
and that he ought to pursue this end with all possible 
zeal and earnestness of spirit. " He preached with 
i( such spirit and devotion (said the emperor Charles 
" V. of Ochius, one of the first reformers), as might 
" almost serve to make the very stones weep." With 
the same spirit should all of us preach, my brethren, 
if we attended to the weight of our calling. Our er- 
rand is of infinite importance. The issue of it, I 
say again, is eternal happiness or everlasting mise- 
ry. Jt therefore becomes us to use every effort, 
in order to make souls feel their dangerous state, and 

* Humk, Three Essays on Suicide, immortality of th* Soul, 
fee. 

t Doddridse, 



192 LECTURE XIX. 

rouse them to a solicitude about their salvation. For 
this purpose, let us awaken all our spirit in our ser- 
mons. Let us try every solemn and forcible form of 
address to the hearts and consciences of men. Let us 
use every endeavour to kindle their souls to a zealous 
concern for religion, and to the practice of true god- 
liness. " Never had orators a finer opportunity of 
" being heard with attention. Never were subjects 
" more susceptible of a grave, majestic, and pathetic 
" eloquence, than those themes which we treat of. 
" We have the most powerful motives to work 
" with, and the most powerful passions to work up 
c ' on. We have an eternity of glory to promise, 
" and an eternity of misery to threaten. We are sent 
" by a master, in whose presence all the kings in the 
tC universe are but as the small drop in the bucket, 
" or the dust in the balance*." We may address all 
the feelings, and all the passions of mankind. By the 
terrors of the Lord we may persuade them ; by their 
own interest allure them. We may set the blessed 
God before them in all the splendours of his majesty, 
and ask, Who would not fear and glorify so great a 
king : We may lead them to Mount Sinai, and pro- 
claim the law of God in their hearing, amid thun- 
dering and lightnings, blackness and darkness, tem- 
pest and the sound of trumpet, and ask, who would 
not obey it? We may lead them to Calvary, and show 
them the son of God, bleeding and expiring on the 
cross, the sacrifice of a guilty world, and ask Who 
would not love him ? We may display before their 
eyes the triumph of his death, resurrection, and 
ascension, with all the powers of earth and hell sub- 
dued. We may bid them mount along with us to 
the regions of the blessed, and there show them the 
pure joys and the ineffable glories of that happy place. 
We may anticipate the solemnities of the last day. 

* Saurin. 



LECTURE XIX. 193 

sound the archangel's trumpet in their ears, show 
them the dead rising out of their graves, and the 
living in an instant changed. We may shew them 
the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, in 
the glory of his Father, and all his holy angels ; the 
elements melting, and heaven and earth on fire. We 
may take them to the bottomless abyss, and show 
them the horrible mansions of the damned ; the 
worm that never dieth, and the fire that shall never 
be quenched. Is it possible to conceive an orator in 
circumstances more advantageous, especially when 
he is encouraged to hope for the aid of the divine Spi- 
rit to bless and to give effect to his endeavours. Pos- 
sessed, therefore, of such glorious advantages, let 
us duly improve them. Let us exert every faculty, 
let us wield every engine. Let us be faithful and 
zealous, and active, and bold, that, through the mer- 
cy of God in Christ, we may save our own souls, and 
those that hear us, 



LECTURE XX. 

That a Minister of the Gospel should take pains fo> 
repeat, and not read-, his Swmons. 

THE practice of reading sermons, which is not of 
a long standing in this country, and which is not yet 
tolerated in any other, is extremely hurtful to the 
interests of religion ; for no sermon can have the 
same energy or effect when read, as it has when 
spoken or repeated. It may be more correct in point 
of composition ; but this advantage is obtained at 
the expence of animation, and therefore at the ex* 
pence of usefulness. For the plainest speaker, with 
animation, affects us more than the greatest orator 
could do by reading, which hardly admits of any 
animation. If Cicero and Demosthenes had only 
read their harangues, they had never produced those 
wonderful effects, which we read of, on the minds 
of their hearers, who would have, in that case, 
heard them, as we read them, with some admira- 
tion, but no emotion. If St. Paul had only read a 
discourse on righteousness, temperance, and a judg- 
ment to come, Felix, we may presume, had never 
trembled. Nay, if he who spake as never man did, 
had read his sacred discourses, instead of closing 
the book and preaching, it is probable (with rever- 
ence be it said) that this eulogy had not been be- 
stowed, and that perfection in eloquence had made 
no part of the sublime character of our Master. 
If, therefore, reading, instead of repeating, could 
have thus deprived the discourses of a Cicero, De- 
mosthenes, St. Paul, or even of the son of god him- 
self, of so much of their effect and excellence, is it 



"LECTURE XX. 195 

not certain, that it must be of the utmost prejudice 
to our very inferior sermons ? 

It is universally allowed, that a great part of elo 
quence consists in action. When the ancient orator 
was asked what was the first requisite in his art, he 
answered, Action. And when asked what was the 
second and third, he still answered, Action* action. 
If action then be the essence of eloquence, the man 
who only reads his discourses, however excellent, 
can hardly pass for eloquent, or lay claim to the ap- 
pellation of orator, since action and reading are al- 
most incompatible terms. 

There is indeed a way of reading with a propriety 
and ease, which may in some degree resemble speak- 
ing. But the resemblance at best is very faint and 
distant. Our very tone of voice, when we speak, is 
different from what it is when we read. The first 
is the natural sound of our organs of speech ; the 
last was acquired in learning to read, and still savours 
of that coldness and indifference with which we 
then expressed what we did not understand. When 
we speak, our words seem to be the immediate 
dictates of the hearty and will more easily find their 
way to the hearts of others. They will also be 
uttered with more spirit and freedom, than if our eyes 
were fixed on a paper, which would further deprive 
our words of those significant looks with which they 
might be accompanied; the powerful language of the 
eyes, so full of expression, force, and persuasion. 
Reading, too, hinders us from observing the counte- 
nances of our hearers, which would be no less ani- 
mating to us than ours to them. It hinders us from 
observing, whether they attend to us, whether they 
understand us, or whether they are moved ; and, 
consequently, from accommodating ourselves always 
to their circumstances. In short, it is altogether in- 
compatible with true oratory and action, and so much 
alters the nature of a sermon from what it would be, 



196 LECTURE XX. 

if repeated, that it can never have the same effect upon 
an audience. 

Hence, the bar, the senate, and popular assem- 
blies, on every other occasion, disallow so much of 
reading, that in none of them has it ever yet been 
practised or indulged : so that it's being introduced 
into the pulpit only, and continued there, will be 
found, I fear, to reflect little honour on our prede- 
cessors or ourselves. It seems to argue a want of 
care, earnestness and sincerity ; for who, in advising 
a friend very earnestly, would think of writing his 
advice, or taking with him notes, out of which he 
should read his counsel. 

Upon the whole, my brethren, it is beyond a 
doubt that it would contribute much to the useful- 
ness of our sermons, if they were repeated, instead 
of being read. The wonderful success of the first 
preachers of Christianity, and of the first reformers 
in latter times, has been often imputed to the novelty 
of their doctrines. But I am apt to think, that much 
of it may be also ascribed to the zeal, animation, and 
action, of the preachers ; as we have known a few 
sacred orators in our own days, whose sermons, thus 
delivered, were attended with a degree of success al- 
most equally astonishing. The writings of a White- 
field and Wesley show, that their strength lay in 
this ; and that if they had been readers, they must 
have been as weak as other men. 

Indeed, the practice of reading has in it something 
that looks so like indolence and indifference, that it 
is, in appearance, at least, ill suited to that boldness 
and zeal which men should expect in a messenger 
come from God. A man who speaks in the name 
of Christ, as his ambassador and representative in 
the world, might be expected to speak with such a 
dignity and freedom, as would manifest his own in- % 
ward concern, as well as the awful and infinite 
consequences of his message. It might be expected, 



LECTURE XX. 19! 

that he should speak from the fulness of his heart ; 
and that, with all possible earnestness of spirit, he 
would rouse and excite his people to prepare for 
death, judgment, and eternity, and to look, without 
delay, for the glorious appearing of the Son of God. 
But if, instead of this, he bows motionless over a 
paper, and only, through that medium, speaks to 
his hearers, we are tempted to suspect, if not a want 
of capacity, at least a want of concern ; for every. 
considerate person will judge according to the ap- 
pearance before his eyes, and not according to the 
prevalency of custom ; and will, therefore, reckon 
this as an instance of indolence and awkwardness 
which has no parallel in the affairs of men. The 
minds of the hearers, too, from a principle of assi- 
milation, are apt, on such occasions, to be seized 
with a languor of spirits, semewhat analogous to the 
minister's indolence ; and though we must, in cha- 
rity, believe, that the spirits of both are more se- 
riously engaged than their outward frame would in- 
dicate, yet the practice has naturally a manifest ten- 
dency to introduce a cold and lifeless face on the 
awful concerns of our immortal part ; and ought, 
therefore, as much as lieth in us, to be always a- 
voided. 

The preacher who, cold and inanimate as a statue, 
slavishly reads his sermons, however well penned, 
will always find those sermons attended with very 
moderate success. He may be compared to those 
worms which seem to glow and give some light in 
the dark, but have no warmth. He may convey 
some knowledge to the understanding, but no emo- 
tion at all to the heart. " When sucli a man would 
" reprove sinners, he only reads to them a chiding. 
u When he would awaken them from their lethargy, 
u and pluck them as brands out of the burning, he 
" reads to them some words of pity, or perhaps a use 
" of terror ; anijf he would lament over their impen- 



198 LECTURE XX. 

<c itence and approaching ruin, he can do no more 
a than read to them a chapter of lamentation. A 
a paper, with the most pathetic lines written upon it, 
4t has neither fear, nor hope, nor compassion, nor 
46 zeal. It is conscious of no design, nor has any so- 
Xi licitude about the success ; and a mere reader, who 
" coldly tells his people what his paper says, appears 
" to be as void of all these necessary qualifications 
66 as his paper is. Let us see if such conduct would 
'" not appear to be the strangest indifference in mat- 
** ters of less moment. The steward of a great 
a lord was much displeased with the servants 
" under him, for some instance of gross mis- 

* conduct. The occasion of his displeasure was 

* great and just ; but he had not the spirit of reproof. 
u He complained to his lord ; but his lord desired to 
" be excused from interfering with the province of 
a his steward, and told him, that if the servants un- 
" der him were culpable, he must sharply reprove 
a them. Alas ! said he, I cannot chide ; however, 
" to show my resentment, if you will write down a 
" chiding, I will go immediately and read it to them. 
" The steward read, and the servants smiled*." 

You may, therefore, hoid it as a certain truth, 
my brethren, that the more and the oftener you re- 
peat, if you are not able to do it entirely and always, 
you will be not only the more agreeable, but the 
more useful and persuasive preachers. Your memo- 
ry, too, more than any faculty, will improve by ex- 
ercise ; insomuch that what was difficult at first will 
soon be easy. Till that is the case, you can take 
short notes of the method, or principal heads and lead- 
ing thoughts, which will readily suggest the matter 
you had premeditated and prepared under them, and 
in a great measure enable you to preserve the freedom 
and ease of one who speaks. And when you are 

* See Watts's Miscell. 



LECTURE XX, 1 WW 

thus sure of your matter, you will never be at a loss 
for plain and proper words to express it, especially if 
you are much interested, and indeed in earnest. If 
you are not, no preparation whatever will make you 
eloquent. After you shall have acquired a facility of 
expression, and some boldness and presence of mind 
by practice, you will perhaps speak with more free- 
dom and ease in this manner, than if you had com- 
mitted every word to paper and to memory before^ 
hand. For in the freedom and warmth of preaching, 
a thousand things will spontaneously occur, which 
you could never have thought of in the closet, and 
which will have more nature, eloquence, and force, 
than any thing previously prepared. By this, how- 
ever, 1 would not be understood as- recommending to 
any one to trust to such occurrences. It is best to 
prepare as if you did not expect them ; at least, till 
you have acquired the habit of expressing your 
thoughts with ease, and even with correctness. 

Habit, habit is every thing. Choose that course 
of life which is best, said the philosopher, and cus. 
torn will soon make it easy, and even pleasant. 
Therefore young preachers, especially, should accus- 
tom themselves, from the first, to repeat their ser- 
mons ; a practice to which they would soon be recon- 
ciled, and find by no means difficult. I know, I 
feel, that when a different practice has been, in any 
measure, indulged, it is not easily corrected. Correct- 
ed, however, by perseverance and pains, it may be ; 
and the pleasure and advantages redounding from 
the effort, will, as in the case of repentance, more 
than compensate for the labour. Of labour, indeed 
we should make no account in the exercise of our 
sacred calling. Our greatest honour is to be spent in 
such noble service. We have a Master who will re- 
ward us with an exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory, if we are faithful and diligent ; or punish us 
everlastingly, if we are inactive and careless, And 



200 LECTURE XX'. 

let us remember, that even in the lifeless performance 
of the duties belonging to a character so public and 
important as ours, and a mere negative virtue, may 
be as hurtful to the great interests of mankind, as 
the positive crimes of other men. The stagnant pool 
may be as noxious as the bursting torrent. None of 
us, therefore, can be certain but negligence or indif- 
ference in us may be followed by as severe punish- 
ments, as the crimes of others, in this or in another 
world. This will appear highly probable, if we con- 
sider the remote consequence of our indolence, to 
give it no worse a name. For if we allow the im- 
pressions of God and religion to wear out of the minds 
of our people, by our indolence in duty, and our 
careless manner of handling the word of God, not 
only does the present generation pass unprepared to 
eternity, but several others may pass after them, be- 
fore these impressions can be fixed in the minds of 
their successors. This thought should powerfully 
engage us to be at all possible pains in preparing for the 
pulpit. And, to give this preparation it's full effect, 
we must never forget that we ought to spend a great 
part of our time in secret and fervent prayer, for 
obtaining the direction, aid, and blessing of God upon 
our labours ; for obtaining much of the presence of his 
Holy Spirit, and a lively sense of his grace, upon our 
souls. When the impressions of divine things are thus 
deep and strong, and growing upon our minds, we 
shall clearly perceive the necessity of entering into t{ ie 
spirit of our ministry, and not satisfy ourselves with 
reading a cold formal exercise set to the measure of 
half an hour. It were a miracle indeed, if a reader 
could inform, move and persuade his hearers, 03* 
means so unlikely, and in a period of time so circum- 
scribed. Prepare and deliver as you ought, and so 
as to engage, interest, and keep alive the attention of 
the audience ; and then as you may learn from those 
who attend the theatre, a longer time will appear to be 
short, and nowise tedious. 



LECTURE XX. £01 

When I suggest that sermons, when they are in 
other respects what they ought, might be somewhat 
longer too, I am sensible that the torrent of the fa- 
shion at present is against me, and that it would be 
a vain attempt to stem it's tide. But I know also 
that in proportion as this fashion of reading and 
shortening sermons has gained ground, the interests 
of religion have declined. Such therefore, as wish 
to be useful to souls, will walk in the good old way, 
and study to approve themselves to God and to con- 
science. They will at the same time study to avoid 
prolixity, concentre their ideas, and speak to the 
purpose. Without this they would only disgust by 
speaking long. For many speak long only because 
they want the art of arranging their ideas clearly, 
and expressing them succinctly. The shorter the ha- 
rangues of such, they are so much the better. But 
when ministers speak, as they ought, in a clear, 
strong and connected manner, I would not have 
them cut short at a precise minute, but do justice to 
the subject, and to souls, if a few more sands should 
run. To induce them to this, and to engage them 
*o speak with a becoming energy and animation, 
they ought to remember, that they speak in the pre- 
sence of God and angels, as well as of men. Those 
glorious, though invisible beings, who minister to 
the heirs of salvation, are certainly present when the 
words of that salvation are preached. It was proba- 
bly with a view of inculcating this truth on the 
minds of the worshippers, and of inspiring them with 
reverence and awe in places of worship, that the Jew- 
ish tabernacle and the Jewish temple were in a man- 
ner lined with the figures of cherubs. Accordingly, 
we find in the New Testament, angels putting men 
in mind of sacred truths, which, on former occasi- 
ons, they heard delivered to them*. 

* Compare Luke xxiv. 6, 7, with Matth. xyii. 23. 
Bb 



202 LECTURE XX. 

" I have been told by a certain person," says Chry- 
sostom,* " and I well believe it, that lie had seen a 
* glorious vision of an innumerable company of an- 
rl gels leaning forward at the altar, and listening, as 
" soldiers, around their general." What an enliven- 
ing consideration must this be to the christian preach- 
er ! Thousands of the host of heaven surround him ; 
and, while he improves one order of beings, he re- 
gales another ; while he instructs men, he gives joy 
to angels. Is it possible that such a man can act his 
part in the pulpit with indifference or coldness, or 
eonfine himself to the reading of a paper ; I had al- 
most said to the repetition of any words previously 
conned ? Is it possible that, in performing the func- 
tions of his office, his thoughts should not carry him 
heavenwards, and as it were, transport him to the 
regions of glory? 

I conclude this subject, my brethren, with observ- 
ing again, that the best rule for acquitting ourselves 
properly in our public appearances is, by proper me- 
ditation and study, to make ourselves fully masters 
of our subject, and then to have always our hearts 
deeply impressed with a sense of the importance of 
that service in which we are engaged. This sense, 
indeed, we are apt to lose, when, by long use, our 
office is become familiar to us. It is proper, therefore r 
to refresh our mihds frequently with the view which 
we had of our ministry, when we first entered upon 
that sacred office. How solemn, how awful a thing 
did it then appear, to enter upon the most august of- 
fice on earth, to stand in the room of Christ, and to 
be the messengers of his love to those souls for whom 
he died! But familiarity may have weakened this 
sense, and long use may have wore it off in a great 
degree. So when the high priest and Levites first 
saw the tabernacle which Moses had constructed, 

* De Sacerdotio. 



LECTURE XX. £03 

the cloud which covered it, and the manifestation of 
the divine presence which surrounded it, they must 
have approached it with deep reverence and holy fear* 
But, in process of time, they became bolder, and at 
length profaned it, by offering strange fire. We run 
a similar risk of profaning the mysteries of our most 
holy religion, unless we frequently recollect the so- 
lemnity of our work, and the importance of our 
calling. Our holy office, like the ark of God of old, 
will either save or destroy, as we do or do not hold 
it in awe and reverence*. 

* Compare 1 Sam. yi, with g Sam. vi> 



LECTURE XXI. 



That a minister of the gospel should be solicitous about 
the Success of his Labours. 



IT is the observation of a very pious divine, that he 
never knew any considerable success attending the 
brightest talents, or the most shining preachers, if 
those preachers had not a solicitous concern about 
the success of their ministrations. Should they be 
honoured even so far as to be made the means of 
planting the grace of God in the souls of men, yet 
still that grace is but a tender plant in a foreign and 
unfriendly soil, which it requires much care, and 
pains, and skill, to cherish. A faithful minister, 
will, therefore, have a' due regard to every part of 
his work. Knowing the importance of preaching, 
he will make all the previous preparation in his 
power. He will not only store his memory, but 
impress his heart, with the truths of the gospel. He 
will particularly study to be fervent in spirit, when 
in public he is serving the Lord. And, after con- 
cluding the service ot the temple, after lifting holy 
hands, and spreading them in benediction and 
prayer over his people, he will not think that his 
work is ended. He only changes the place of car- 
rying it on, retiring from the temple to the closet, 
and there committing the success of his labours to 
his God. He knows, that though he plant with 
care, and water with tears, that it is God alone who 
can give the increase. Therefore, in the inmost re- 
cesses of devotion, his whole soul will be poured 
out before him, that he may obtain his blessing. 
Yes, my brethren, if we would be accounted faith- 



LECTURE XXI. 205 

fill ministers of Jesus, we must water the seed sown? 
not only with public, but also with secret prayer. 
We must plead with God importunately, that he 
would not suffer us to labour in vain, and to spend 
our strength for naught. Without this we might 
be likened to that foolish bird, the ostrich, which is 
said to lay her eggs in the sand, regardless of what 
may befal them. But to her, as it is said in the 
book of Job, God hath not given understanding. 
And we, my brethren, are equally void of under- 
standing and fidelity, if we do not look, with a 
watchful eye and anxious heart, after the success of 
our ministrations. What should we think of the 
husbandman, who, after preparing his ground and 
sowing his seed, should take no further thought about 
it till the day of the harvest ? Trifling harvest ; trifling 
as his neglect appears, when compared with his, who, 
after sowing the seed of eternal happiness, shews no 
anxiety to see it spring. Or, what should we think of 
that ambassador, who, after delivering his message, 
though fully and faithfully, should then dismiss all 
anxiety about the success of his embassy, and regard 
not how he should speed in his master's service ? 
Would we not deem such a careless ambassador un* 
worthy of the high trust reposed in him ? And must 
we not judge in the same manner of that ambassador 
of Christ, who, in his infinitely important business, 
acts the same careless part ? How different was the 
conduct of Abraham's faithful servant, who, after 
delivering his message, would neither eat nor drink 
till he saw his master's business was like to do well ? 
Such should be our solicitude about the success of 
that ministry of reconciliation, of which our Lord 
hath done us the honour to give us the charge. 
For, if we pay no regard to the souls of our hearers, 
but in those public exhibitions, which our duty in- 
dispensibly requires, we shall never see the fruit of 
our labour in the reformation of our people. If we 



306 LECTURE XXI. 

seek not, and use not, other occasions, and that daily) 
of conveying and confirming religious impressions, 
of recovering the fallen, refreshing the weary, and 
leading on the willing ; if we neglect to warn, ex- 
hort, comfort, visit, and instruct, r as exigencies may 
require, and as opportunity may offer ; if we bear 
not their names and their cases in prayer before God, 
and, with unceasing solicitude, implore his blessing 
on our labours, how can we hope that God will give 
us the pleasure of seeing those labours prosper ? How 
can we hope that he will perform to us his promise 
made to his faithful servants, of being with them, put- 
iing his spirit upon them, and his word in their mouth, 
and of making Satan fall before them as lightning 
from heaven ? These blessings await only those who 
solicitously seek them. 

O God and Father of my Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ, in whose name I have been speaking, and 
whose message I have been declaring, pardon the 
sins of my holy things, and prosper, for the sake of 
thy Son, the work, the important work, in which I 
have been engaged ! Thy servant has heen plant- 
ing and watering, and now waits, at the foot of thy 
throne, for that blessing of thine, which only can 
give the increase. O let the dew of heaven alight 
on my garden, and the sun of righteousness shine on 
it ! Or, if this be too bold a request for a worm ut- 
terly unworthy of thy least notice, do it for thy own 
great name's sake ; honour thy own word ; bless 
thy own ordinances ; and glorify thy Son, and suffer 
not his blood to be shed, for this people, without 
effect ! O may he see of the travail of his soul 
among them, and be satisfied ! May the spirit which 
he hath purchased work powerfully among them ! 
May he teach, convince, convert, sanctify, and seal 
them to the day of redemption ! O why should 
these poor sheep perish, when an all-sufficient Saviour 
is provided! Is there no balm for them in Gilead, 



LECTURE XXL 207 

is there no physician there ? O may it appear that 
there is ! Hear, heal, save ! Let this be a day of 
thy power, on which they may be a willing people ; 
a day which many of them may remember, as that 
on which they received a spiritual life, and were born 
again ! Let this be a day on which the great and 
good Shepherd himself shall be said to have gone 
forth to seek the lost, and bring the wandering 
home ! May this be a day on which he shall be 
said to havejfed this flock as a shepherd, to have ga- 
thered the Lambs with his arm and carried them in 
his bosom, and to have gently led those that are with 
young ! On this day, O my God ! let the heavenly 
harps be strung in praise of thy redeeming love, and 
let rejoicing angels sing over the conversion of sin- 
ners ! O hear the prayers of the church on earth, 
and fulfil the joy of the church in heaven, so shall 
the church, above and below, with one voice, praise 
thee ; and so shall thy servant go on in his way re- 
joicing I O let not my Lord be angry, if his unwor- 
thy servant shall urge this request with persever- 
ing importunity ; if I shall never hold my peace, day 
nor night, and give thee no rest, till thou establish and 
make this people a praise on the earth ! For this 
purpose, let thy word this day preached, and the 
ministerial labour this day performed, be blessed to 
them ! Let it be as the good seed that shall bring 
forth an hundred fold ; and let thy good providence 
watch over it, that no enemy may sow tares among 
it ! And now, O God, let not thy servant be as the 
husbandman who slept, but give him grace to watch 
and be faithful ; and bless thou his labour, and give 
the increase ! May the seed spring, grow, and ripen, 
through thy blessing, on his constant care ! May it 
be kept till the great day of the harvest, bound in the 
bundle of life, and gathered in, by rejoicing an- 
gels into the garner of God ! O my God, give me 
grace to be more faithful, and enable me to discharge. 



208 LECTURE XXL 

all the duties of my ministry ! O my God, be the 
God of my people ! Carry them in thy bosom, as a 
nursing father beareth the sucking child ; and let thy 
everlasting arms be underneath them ! O hear, for the 
sake of thy Son, whose name I make my supplica- 
tion, through whose hands I desire to transmit it, and 
on whose intercession I rely, for procuring it thy ac- 
ceptance. Amen, 



LECTURE XXII. 

That a Minister of the Gospel should attend to the 
Daily Duties of his Office. 

1. CATECHISING. 

WITH solicitude for success is naturally connect 
ed the most unremitting attention to daily duties. 
We ought never to forget, my brethren, that the ser- 
vice of the sanctuary and of the Sabbath is not all 
the work of a minister. It is perhaps the least and 
the lightest part of it. He must rebuke, reprove, 
exhort, and teach daily, at all seasoiis, and from 
house to house; otherwise he can never have the 
pleasure of seeing his labour prosper *. On the con- 
trary, like the stone which Sisyphus rolled up the 
hill, and which rebounded to the valley whenever 
he slackened his efforts, our work will fall back eve- 
ry time we lessen our diligence, and so put us to the 
same necessity with the Sisyphean shade of renew- 
ing our labours. The statuary, the painter, and 
other artificers, after an intermission, will find their 
work in the state in which they left it ; but we have 
frequently the mortification to see ours effaced, like 
those figures which have been made in the sand, and 
of which no impression remains after the tide is re- 
turned. 

We must, therefore, my brethren, ply our labour 
with incessant care. Our business is the business of 
every day and of every hour ; for if at any time we 
are remiss, the enemy will be sure to take the ad- 
vantage. The kingdom of heaven is likened to a 

* Acta xx. 18—30. & v. 42. 
Cc 



21® LECTURE XXII. 

man who sowed good seed in his field, but while 
men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among 
it. * Public ordinances are but a part of that pasture 
" which our Lord hath prepared for his sheep, and 
" which every true pastor ought to administer. We 
" must then, my brethren, as the representatives of 
" the great Shepherd, have his tenderness, love, and 
" care in visiting our flock, inquiring into their spi- 
ritual state, their knowledge, growth, conversa- 
" tion, and holiness. We must, like our great High 
" Priest, bring their names, their doubts, their temp- 
" tations, before the throne ; as much as administer 
*' the two seals of the covenant, or exercise power 
" and authority in excluding members. Appearing 
" in the pulpit, and at the table of the Lord, is the 
" least part of our work. Our master's family on 
" earth (over which we are made stewards) are a 
" company of tempted ones ; who need exhortation, 
" reproof, comfort, in a more personal and particular 
" way than can be given from the pulpit. By fre 
" quent private interviews we slide into their hearts, 
tC and draw out their whole soul, before they are 
Ci aware. By prayer with them and for them, we 
" make their doubts, fears, comforts, our own. 
"Some of the sweetest senses which we are helped 
" to give of scripture, we w T ill find the issue and re- 
" suit of the conflicts, experiences, and love- visits of 
" other saints. The apostle Paul himself expected 
(l to receive some spiritual gift from the believing 
a Romans, as well as to impart good to them, when 
" he should have an opportunity of seeing them.* 
" And nothing will render us more like to Christ, 
" than a compassionate suffering with all the mem- 
" bers of the church, in all their afflictions, trials, 
<c consolations, inward and outward. Who, says 
" the apostle, is weak, and I am not weak ? Who is 
" offended, and I burn not?"t 

* Bora. i. IS. t Hill's Serm. 



LECTURE XXir. 211 

We, whom God hath honoured with the ministry 
of the gospel, should be devoted entirely to the ser- 
vice of our flock, that they may reap all possible 
fruit from our life and from our labours. This should 
be our ambition, our pleasure, our end and aim in 
every thing. We should consider, that, from the 
moment in which we enter on this sacred office, we 
have, as it were, given up all right over ourselves, 
and transferred it to the flock to which we appertain. 
Yes, my brethren, to this we owe our care, our 
time, our heart, our life, and our death too, if duty 
and religion should require it. This is the field we 
ought to labour, the vineyard we ought to cultivate, 
and the family we ought to manage as stewards, 
with all the application of which we are capable. 
It is not enough that we deliver the most affecting 
and instructive sermons ; and that with all possible 
seriousness and warmth ; it is not enough that we 
discharge with a becoming solemnity all the other 
public services of our religion ; we must seek and 
embrace every occasion of cultivating the acquain- 
tance of our people, and be constantly engaged in 
good offices among them/ We must show all dili- 
gence in teaching and training the young to piety 
and virtue ; in reclaiming, or comfirming, or per- 
fecting those who are farther advanced in life, as 
their various cases may require. We must; listen 
with tenderness and patience to the doubts and.dis^ 
tresses of all our people, however mean may be their 
rank or understanding. We must relieve, or get re- 
lief to the needy, as we best can ; visit and comfort 
the afflicted, pray by them with fervency, and exhort 
them with love, prudence, and fidelity. In a word, 
we should reckon every day and hour lost, in which 
we are not occupied in the way of our duty, and 
in which we have not an opportunity of doing some- 
thing for the glory of God and the souls of our peo- 
ple. And that such precious opportunities may not 



212 LECTURE XXII. 

be lost from inattention, we ought to look often 
about us in search of them, and reckon our own 
happiness to be deeply concerned in finding them. 
We should in the morning say to ourselves, " What 
■*' may I do this day for my charge? How shall I 
" lay out myself, my time, and my means, so as 
" may best advance the glory of God, and the sal- 
" vation of souls ?" In the evening, in like manner, 
we ought to call ourselves to an account of the im- 
provement we have made of the day, and to exa- 
mine how we have bestowed our thoughts, our 
words, and our actions. This recollection will fur- 
nish us with matter of praise or humiliation for the 
devotions of the closet. If the latter (as- is most 
likely), it should be accompanied with a holy reso- 
lution of improving the next day better ; if, after 
having wasted so much of our master's goods, we 
shall be continued another day in e>ur stewardship. 
In any event, it will be of use |) consider, if 
more love would not beget more diligence ; and to 
study how we may best promote that holy affection, 
both to God and man. 

None of us, my brethren, livetli unto himself. We 
live for our people ; and should w T atch over their 
souls as those who have an account to render. A 
minister, therefore, like his emblem in the prophetic 
vision, ought to be on all sides beset with eyes, as 
one who has not only to attend to himself, but to 
multitudes besides. He ought, as much as possible, 
to observe every step which every one of his people 
takes, that he may know how to deal with each of 
them in what concerns his salvation. Without this, 
how can he answer to God for the souls of which he 
had the charge ? Alas ! how can any man give an 
account of what he has never inquired into, and con- 
sequently never known ? It will no doubt be pleaded 
by some, that their people are too numerous to ad- 
mit of this intimate knowledge of every ofttr of them. 



LECTURE XXIX. 213 

But I fear it can be pleaded only by the fewest, that 
they made this the object of their utmost care, and 
that they were at all possible pains to know the state 
of their flock. And if we would wish that neither 
God nor our own conscience may condemn us, in 
this respect, we must carefully avail ourselves of the 
daily opportunities which may be furnished for this 
purpose, by Catechising, Pastoral Visits, and Visits- 
to the Sick. 

Catechising (which consists in teaching young 
or ignorant persons the principal points of religion, 
in regard to belief and practice) is so useful a part of 
the ministerial office, that one should think it ought 
to be among the last that should be laid aside. Yet 
in many places it seems to be almost entirely given 
up ; in others much on the decline. The priest, it is 
alledged, loves his ease, and the people their igno- 
rance. But are we, my brethren, to prefer our ease 
to our duty, or are we to indulge our people in their 
ignorance, because they love it ? God forbid ! We 
might as well, under the same pretext, indulge and 
countenance them in their vices. It is our business 
to draw off their attention from what may be most 
pleasing to corrupt nature, and to fix it on what is 
most important and useful: and that the practice of 
catechising our people, and more especially the 
younger part of them, is so, cannot be denied. A 
catechism contains, or should contain, the plain and 
fundamental articles of our faith and practice. With- 
out learning these, in something of a systematic form, 
though men may have the scriptures at large in their 
hands, they know not often what they profess, nor 
can they give any good account of the faith that is 
in them : And without learning these things early, 
they seldom submit to learn them at all, much less 
to commit them to memory when they advance in 
years. We should, therefore, take care that this be 
done as early as possible, and that every part of what 



214 lecture xxir. 

the catechism contains be explained to them, as they 
shall be able to receive it. A system so short as that 
it may be committed to memory, were it ever so 
plain, has need to be enlarged on. We must also 
produce the scriptural proofs, as well as explanations, 
of what it contains, show the connection of it's parts, 
the tendency of it's doctrines, and the extent of it's 
precepts. 

Besides the necessity of this practice, for giving 
the young a knowledge of their religion, fitting them 
for taking their baptismal vows upon themselves, and 
renewing their engagements at the Lord's supper, it 
is attended with the happiest consequences to those 
who are advanced in life, and who, if left to them- 
selves, are but too apt to grow remiss^ and to lose 
more than they gain in knowledge. 

This practice, too, will bring our public teaching 
more close to our people's consciences, and make ev- 
ery thing we say more particular and personal, and, 
consequently, more regarded. It will excite them to 
more industry and diligence in treasuring up religi- 
ous knowledge in their memories at home, as well 
as induce them to give the more earnest heed at 
church, lest the things which they hear should, at 
any time, slip out of their minds. Their being sure 
that they are soon to be questioned about what they 
read of the scriptures at home, and what they hear 
of them in sermons, as well as about their knowing 
and understanding the catechism, or form of sound 
words, which their church prescribes, is a strong in- 
citement to diligent preparation, in order to acquit 
themselves properly when examined. And if they 
further know, that their proficiency is noted down, 
from time to time, in the margin of the list, and will 
be observed by their pastor, there will be few who 
will not be anxious to maintain in this, as in other 
respects, a character in the eyes of their neighbours 
and of their minister. 



LECTURE XXII. 215 

We should, at the same time, endeavour to make 
this exercise appear, as much as possible, a privilege, 
rather than a task or burden. I have known it so 
managed^ that any person who was not examined, 
considered the neglect as the severest mark of his 
pastor's displeasure, which seldom failed of produ- 
cing the proper fruits of self-examination, repentance, 
and amendment of life. It is, however, the more 
common case, especially where this exercise has been, 
for any time, allowed to f fall into disuse, that many 
will not submit to it, and that more will not punctu- 
ally attend it. But any objection that we can urge 
against the duty, on this score, will easily be remov- 
ed, if (with prudence and prayer) we make use of that 
authority and discipline which is connected with our 
office, and of which I shall say something in the se- 
quel. Few are so far lost as to make light of the 
other privileges of the gospel, which may, and ought 
to be withheld, if they make light of this. Or, if 
they should still look upon it as a duty, they must al- 
low that duty is the only road to privilege. In either 
view, the practice of our part of the duty, consecrated 
by the example of our Saviour, and kept in force by 
the practice and precepts of his church ever since, is to 
be duly and religiously performed. 

I must, however, observe, that there are a few in 
superior offices and stations, who, from long prescrip- 
tive use, think they have ajust claim to be exempt- 
ed. And we, from motives of peace and ministerial 
prudence, ought, perhaps, at times, to allow the claim. 
Not indeed because we are always satisfied that they 
have knowledge, but because we are sometimes afraid 
of exposing their ignorance. Hence, however, ap- 
pears the necessity of more than ordinary diligence to 
instruct and catechise the children of the richer and 
higher classes of men, when they are young, since 
they will not, when they grow up, submit to it. 



216 LECTURE XXII. 

But let us own it, my brethren, the greatest ob- 
jection to the practice of catechising our people, will 
be found, I fear, to lie often at our own door. " Tbe 
*f work is difficult, our parishes are large, and we can- 
4C not often overtake it, amidst so much other busi- 
i( ness." The work is, confessedly, attended with 
labour ; and who ever dreamed that this was not the 
case with every part of our office? An office which re- 
quires of us, "never to cease from our labour, care, and 
" diligence, till we have done all that liethin us, accord- 
" ing to our bounden duty, towards all such as are 
" committed to our care, in order to bring them to a 
" ripeness and perfection of stature in Christ Jesus."* 
An office which requires of us, " to set aside, as much 
" as may be, all worldly cares and studies, and to 
u give ourselves wholly to this vocation, and to draw 
(i all our cares and studies this way, and to this end, 
" that, by our daily reading and weighing^of the 
" scriptures, and praying for the assistance of God's 
4 holy spirit, we may usefully perform the daily du- 
" ties of our calling, and wax daily riper and strong- 
" er in our ministry ,"t An office which requires of 
us, and requires it under the sanction of most so- 
lemn vows, " faithfully, diligently, and cheerfully, 
" to discharge all the parts of the ministerial work, to 
" the edification of the body of Christ."! Who 
" would have ever thought but such an office was 
extremely difficult and laborious? 

Yes, my brethren, our whole office, and especi- 
ally this part of it, is attended with labour. But of 
labour we ought to make no account, when it is pro- 
ductive, as here, of the greatest advantage both to 
ourselves and to our people. With regard to ourselves, 
there is nothing better calculated to exercise and in- 
crease all our gifts and graces, to give our conscien- 

* Liturgy of the Church of England. f Ibid. 

$ Acts of Assembly 1711. 



LECTURE XXII. Mf 

peace, and to fill our hearts with joy, in the pros- 
pect of that awful day on which our life and actions 
are to be reviey/ed. Besides, it will give us the best 
opportunity of becoming intimately acquainted with 
our people, so as to let us know the temper, charac- 
ter, and conduct of each. This knowledge will en- 
able us to address them in a suitable manner on all 
occasions, and to put up Such prayers for them as 
may suit their respective conditions. And, let me 
ask you, my brethren, I beseech you, what mighty 
service can we do to the souls of our people, if we 
have not this intimate knowledge of their persons, 
names, and characters? Must a teacher know his 
scholars, a physician his patients, and even a herd 
his cattle, before they can take the proper care of 
their respective charges ? and are not we under a 
stronger necessity of knowing the flock over whom 
the Holy Ghost hath made us overseers, that we may 
be able to take heed to all of them? How gladly, 
then, should we attend to that part of our duty, 
which gives us the best opportunity of acquiring this 
useful knowledge, by which we may have so great 
an advantage.- 

But the practice of this duty is attended with still 
greater gain to our people. It not only grounds them 
in the first principles of Christianity, and lays the 
foundation of religion in their souls, but also enables 
them to understand those terms and modes of speech 
which perpetually occur in our sermons. In public 
we speak to many ; and what we say may sometimes 
hardly suit the particular case of any number of 
them ; or, if it should, the fewest onjy will take the 
trouble of applying it to themselves, though ready 
enough to apply it to their neighbours. But, when 
we address only one, he knows he is the man : His 
thoughts are kept close to the discourse ; he is obli- 
ged to take part in it ; the whole of it is made level 
to his capacitv. and he is forced to apply it. Indeed, 

Dd 



2 IB lecture xxn. 

this personal and private teaching is so necessary, 
that, without it, little can be expected from the most 
excellent sermons. Try it when you please, my bre • 
thren r and you will find, that hundreds who have 
heard your sermons, perhaps for twenty years, arc 
grossly and wofully ignorant, if they have not also 
been taught and examined in private. A teacher, 
who should impose no task, nor ask any question of 
his scholars, although he should oftener than one 
day in the week read excellent lectures, would find 
very few of them make any sensible progress. In a 
word, what Quinctilian says of children is equally 
applicable to grown people. " They are like narrow- 
u necked bottles, which, if you wish to fill with wa- 
6 ter, you must take singly, and pour it into one after 
" another ; for you will never speed by setting them 
" all together, and casting ever so much water among 
" them." 

Perhaps you object to all this, "the largeness of 
a your parish and the numbers of your people f 
and, it is to be regretted, that, on this head, there 
is so much reason to complain. The number of pas- 
tors is indeed very inadequate to the number of souls 
of which they have charge, owing sometimes to a 
number of churches having been suppressed, and 
their revenues sacrilegiously withheld ; but oftener 
to the general indifference of rulers for the souls of 
men, committing thousands of them to the charge 
of a single person, when they would give no ons 
man the charge of half that number of their oxen, 
their asses, or their sheep. But, leaving those con - 
cerned to answer for this to God, you will do weft 
k> consider if your charge and your living, dissimi- 
lar as perhaps they are, may not both be divided ; 
or, if you might not, one way or another, by due 
exertion, get one or more to take a share in the bur- 
den, and assist you. In any event, you are your- 
self to labour, to the utmost of your power, before 



LECTURE XXH. £19 

you can be sure of being acquitted. You cannot, per- 
haps, catechise your parish half-yearly, as others may 
do, who have a smaller charge ; if not, take a year, 
or even more, if necesary. Two days in the week, 
with a few families to each, will bring you through 
in good time, without being overcome with the la- 
bour ; and, in the remaining part, if well managed, 
you can easily overtake every other part of your 
business. 

As to the manner of conducting this part of duty, 
that must, in a great measure, be left to every one's? 
own discretion. I shall only observe, that it must 
all be gone through in the spirit of love and meek- 
ness. Avoid ail hasty, harsh, and discouraging ex - 
pressions,. which would be little better than daggers 
on these occasions. Be us condescending, and pa- 
tient, and familiar, and plain, as possible. Let your 
people see and feel that you aim at nothing but their 
salvation. Make every necessary allowance for youth 
and age, for want of leisure and of opportunity. 
Ask no needless or unimportant questions, and ex- 

}>ect no nice definitions. Many have some know- 
edge who have no facility of expression. Propose; 
your questions in the simplest form, and in the plain- 
est terms ; and make every one answer in his own 
plain and familiar language. Ask no question that 
you think too difficult for the person you speak to, 
lest he think you mean to expose him. Never allow 
any one to be long at a loss, but either simplify the 
question, or immediately solve it. Analise the ques- 
tions, which they can repeat by rote, into their com- 
ponent parts, that they may learn to attend to the 
meaning of all the particulars which these questions 
comprehend, and to observe the import of the words 
which they can repeat. Dwell chiefly on points of 
the greatest importance, and again and again explain 
them. You can harldy conceive how slow they are 
to understand those spiritual things to which thsir 



#20 LECTURE XXI!, 

thoughts are so littleaccustomed. The plainest truths 
of the gospel to them are often as the deepest mys- 
teries. When you have done with each, direct him 
to what he should principally attend till called again, 
and mark it after his name in your roll, with any thing 
else that you may wish to remember concerning him. 
Prescribe tasks to the younger, and let them know 
that you mark their progress. After you have in 
this manner dealt with each, and pressed your suit 
with a holy mixture of seriousness, and terror, and 
love, and meekness, and evangelical allurement, 
conclude with an earnest and general exhortation, 
and with fervent prayers to God (as in the begin- 
ning), since he only can give to this, and every other 
mean of grace, a blessing. Psalms, and hymns of 
praise, are, on these occasions too, extremely be- 
coming. 

It would greatly add to the good effects of cate- 
chising, if ministers were, once every year, to go 
through the church catechism in public, and explain 
every word of it to their people. And this can be 
no hard matter to any man, when he has once made 
up his mind upon it, and formed some easy illustra- 
tions and similes, which the hearers can retain in their 
memory. In situations in which the people could 
attend, the Sabbath evenings, when the days are 
long, might be devoted with great advantage, to 
this useful exercise. 

Here, then, I drop the subject of catechising, with 
observing, that if ministers were to make conscience 
of this part of their duty, and preach from house to 
house, the fruits of it would soon be manifest, in the 
greater knowledge, and more holy practice, of their 
people ; whereas, without it, their public discourses 
are, in respect of many, in a great measure, thrown 
away. No wonder, when the apostle Paul himself 
apprehended, that if he had not preached privately 



LECTURE XXII. 221 

he might have laboured in vain* I charge you, 
therefore, my brethren, before God and the Lord Je- 
sus Christ who shall judge the quick and the dead at 
his appearing, and his kingdom, that you be instant 
in this duty, in season and out of season, with all 
long-suffering and doctrine.-^- And I say again, let us 
make no account of the labour. The chance of sa- 
ving, were it but one precious soul, from everlasting 
damnation, would deserve our incessant labour for 
£ges, if we might thereby accomplish it. How much 
more, when we have the still nobler chance of sa- 
ving many ! 




LECTURE XXIII. 

Of Daily Duties, — Continued. 

II. PASTORAL VISITS. 

PASTORAL VISITS are so greatly fallen into dis 
use in many places, that perhaps neither pastor nor 
people can now be much reconciled to them. They 
would put the one to trouble, and lay the other un- 
der a closer inspection than would be altogether plea- 
sant. Their usefulness, however, will recommend 
them to the good and wise ; not only among pas- 
tors, but also among flocks, few of whom, with a pru- 
dent management on ourpart, would be long averse to 
them. Yes, if the minister is truly willing and zealous, 
and manages his affairs with prudence and a moderate 
share of discipline, he will seldom have cause to com- 
plain of the greater part of his people. At any rate, 
we must recommend ourselves to God by doing our 
duty ; and this is an useful part of it. If you object 
that your parish is large, it is but taking the longer 
time to make the round. A' few hours a day, for 
only two days in the week, will soon go a great way 
in the largest parish, and will be neither a hard nor 
a disagreeable service; as it sweetly mingles the ex- 
ercise of mind and body, corrects the inconveniences 
of a sedentary life, and will be made still lighter by 
the pleasure of doing good. The opportunity, indeed, 
though short, is precious ; especially when a min- 
ister, as will soon be the case, becomes acquainted 
with the spiritual state of every family and of it's 
different members. Till this happens, it will be pro- 
per, before entering into any family, that he inform 



LECTURE XXIII. 223 

himself well from the elder or warden of the quarter, 
concerning the character and condition of every per- 
son in it. Then, after entering and praying that the 
peace and presence of God may be there, he is to 
note if all the family be present, and if any change 
has taken place among the servants ; that, if there 
has, he may enquire for the testimonials of such as 
may have come from another parish. To all the ser- 
vants he is to speak of their duty, to fear and serve 
God, and to be obedient and faithful to their masters ; 
so serving at once the duties of their stations as ser- 
vants, and the end of their calling as christians. He 
is to speak to the children and younger members, of 
the advantage of knowing and serving God, of re- 
membering their Creator and Redeemer in the days of 
their youth, and of keeping and renewing their co- 
venant with God through Christ, He is to speak to 
the heads of the family about their care of their own 
souls and those under their roof, and of their duty to 
promote the ends of religion, and the worship of 
God in their family. He is to enquire whether in- 
deed they do constantly and regularly maintain fiiis 
worship by prayers, praises, and reading of the scrip- 
tures. He is to enquire concerning the behaviour of 
their servants towards God and man, concerning their 
sanctifying the Sabbath, and conscientiously attend- 
ing to secret and public worship. And all this he 
must do, not only w r ith a view of knowing how to 
deal with them now, but also in time coming. And 
if the memory should find the remembering of such 
particulars as he may learn concerning eacli to be too 
great a burden, it may be in some measure relieved 
by a list, bearing on it's margin such notices, relating 
to every individual, as it may be most proper to re- 
member. He will thus know, at all times, how to ad 
dress each and all of them, seasonably and suitably. 
And as his mind will be stored with passages of scrip 
ture suited to every age, relation, and condition, he 



224 lecture xxnr. 

will give every one bis own portion. And that thtf 
may not forget the passages particularly recommend- 
ed to their attention, it will be proper sometimes to* 
fold down a mark upon them in their Bibles, that 
they may consider them often, and lay them up in 
their memory. 

The length of the visit should at no time exceed 
the relish which the persons to whom it is made 
may ha^e for spiritual entertainments. To let it run 
out in idle words, and worldly matters, news, and 
such trifles, would be entirely defeating it's purpose. 
It would be to make that common and profane, 
which should be entirely consecrated to the service of 
religion. Any other talk, my brethren, might be 
maintained by any other person as well as by us ; 
and would be a degrading of our character from the 
rank of sacred to that of ordinary men. The reason 
why we have not more hold of our people, and more 
respect and love from them, as ministers, is because we 
converse with them so little and so seldom in our 
ministerial character. We choose to speak to them 
for the most part as one of themselves, and not in 
the character of watchmen over their souls, and 
guides to eternal happiness. But if at any other time 
we should converse as men, at this time, at least, we 
ought to converse as christians. Those themes which 
are to occupy eternity may well engross a few mi- 
nutes. 

The visit, then, be it short or long, must be devo- 
ted entirely to the edification of the souls that arc 
present ; excepting such affectionate enquiries about 
the absent members or friends of the family, as may 
furnish us with proper matter for giving them a share 
in those joint prayers with which those visits ought 
always to be concluded. Before such prayer, howe- 
ver, it will be proper to sum up what has been said 
to every individual, in a short exhortation to all, to 
make conscience of every pail of their duty, in their 



LECTURE XXIH. y 225 

respective stations and relations of life, to live in 
peace with each other and with all men, and to at- 
tend to reading the scriptures, private devotion, and 
family worship. They must be particularly exhort- 
ed to attend on public ordinances, as a duty which 
they owe to God, to society, and to themselves ; 
and to spend as much as possible of the Sabbath be- 
sides, in the exercise of piety^, private and domestic. 
For this is almost the only time that the great bulk 
of mankind have for meditating on what they hear 
in public, for reading the scriptures and other books 
of devotion, for considering their own ways, and for 
instructing their servants and their children in ail the 
doctrines and duties of religion. Of the peculiar at- 
tention which we, on this and all other occasions, 
ought to give to the training up of children, I have 
spoken under a former head. I have only to add, 
therefore, on the subject of these visits, that we must, 
as Jerom directs us, " avoid making the least men- 
" tion in one place of what we hear or observe in 
" another, and follow the advice of Hippocrates to 
" his disciples, to be secret^ as well as grave and pru- 
" dent in their whole deportment." 

Those visits, too, will give us the best opportunity 
of knowing the necessities of the poor, and furnish 
proper occasions of honouring God with oar substance, 
by relieving them in such a measure as we can, be- 
sides recommending them to the chanty of others. 
Nothing will give so much efficacy to our counsel, as 
our kind sympathy and charity to those who need 
our aid. And our means, as well as our labour, are 
then best bestowed, when they tend to promote the 
everlasting interests of souls, and to recommend our 
holy religion, which they have been often found 
to do, it's bitterest enemies themselves being judges. 
? Is it not a shame," says the apostate Julian,* " that 
' .. ■■ - 

*. Letter to Arsacius, Heathen High Priest qf Galatia. 

Ee 



226 LECTURE XXIII. 

" when the Jews suffer none of theirs to beg, and 
" the Galileans relieve not only their own, but those 
" also of our religion, that we only should be defec- 
;i tive in so necessary a duty !" 

According to his abilities, then, a minister of this 
heavenly religion ought to be a pattern in this, as in 
every other grace and virtue, and in charity, as well 
as piety, to excel the rest of mankind. He ought to 
consider how well it becomes him, how valuable an 
influence it will give him, and (however little he may 
have to spare) how willingly he should deny himself 
in other things, and straiten himself in any thing, 
that he may be the abler to abound in giving alms. 
He ought to be able to say with Nazianzen* " If I 
" possess either means, or health, or credit, or learn- 
" ing, this is all the satisfaction I desire from them, 
" that I may have somewhat. I may despise, and be- 
" stow, for the sake of Christ." To bestow, for the 
sake of Christ, however little we may have, is the 
surest way to increase our store. You have heard 
of the charity of the brethren of the Abbey of Foun- 
tains^ even when reduced to the greatest straits 
themselves. During the first year of their establish- 
ment, before they had yet any return from their 
lands, they were obliged to subsist, at times, on the 
leaves of trees, and wild herbs, boiled with a little 
salt. Yet even in this season of distress, they nei- 
ther despaired of the bounty of God, nor withheld 
their charity from the poor, when they had any 
thing to bestow. One day the abbot had been abroad 
in the neighbourhood to beg but returned without 
obtaining any aid. Two loaves and a half was all 
the little store they had now remaining. A stranger 
came to request a morsel of bread for himself and 
his indigent family. All the monks looked first at 
their little portion, and then looked up to God. Give 

* Orat. 1. f See Grose's Ruins of Abbeys, &c 



LECTURE XXIII. 227 

him, said the abbot, one of the loaves ; we can ne- 
ver be losers by giving alms. Yes, give it, said all ; 
for God will provide for us. It happened according 
to their faith : for their wants were soon supplied by 
the arrival of a cart-load of bread, sent them as a 
present from a rich neighbour, who was struck with 
the account which he got of their kindness and dis- 
tress from the very stranger whom they had a little 
before relieved. Remember too the widow of Sa- 
repta ; and the peculiar promises of mercy to those 
who show it 

I trust I need not recommend the careful oversight 
and management of any public charities that may be 
under our care. They are a sacred trust, to which 
conscience, if not law, obliges us to attend. Let it, 
therefore, be our first care, to preserve them, as 
if they were our own, and then to apply them, as 
knowing we have an account to render to God of our 
stewardship. With regard to the civil laws made for 
the maintenance of the poor, it is a delicate, and per- 
haps a doubtful point, to determine how far it might 
be for the general interest of the poor themselves, to 
have them always put in their full force. It is how- 
ever, good to have them for the last resource, if, in 
any place it should be found necessary and expedient 
to use them. 



LECTURE XXIV. 

The subject continued. 

III. VISITING THE SICK. 

VISITING the sick and the afflicted, in bo- 
dy or mind, is another considerable part of a mini- 
ster's duty, and so important a part of the christian 
character in general, that our Saviour makes part of 
the enquiry, on the day of judgment, to turn upon 
it ; and the apostle James intimates, that no man 
can be truly religious without it. Hence it is en- 
joined in a special manner, upon ministers, and that 
on pain of deposition, by the laws of our church.* 
Nor ought a minister to go about this duty only 
when he is sent for, as that is generally too late for his 
being of any service. He is to go as soon as he 
hears that any of his flock is ill ; and, during his 
illness, to see him as often as in his power. On these 
occasions, the most thoughtless are disposed to be se- 
rious, as they are in a manner obliged to think of 
eternity. We ought, therefore, to improve such 
opportunities with care, and to co-operate with the 
dispensations of providence, in forming the soul to 
virtue, or in confirming dispositions of holiness 

* " It is ordained, that such as shall be found not given 
" to their book, and to the study of the scriptures, nor given 
** to sanctification and prayer ; such as study not to be pow- 
** erful and spiritual ; such as are cold, and wanting spirit- 
" ual zeal, negligent in visiting the sick, and caring for the 
" poor, be censured according to the degree of their faults ; 
" and, continuing therein, be deposed." Acts of Assembly 
UN*. 



LECTURE XXIV. £20 

•here they are found and formed already. When 
the time is so short, and heaven or hell so near, 
it is high time for us, and for them, to be diligent, 
to redeem the time, and to lay hold of eternal life. 
Bat, the cases of men being so various ; it must be 
left to the minister's own prudence how to treat 
them, as no general rules can suit every particular 
occasion. Sometimes the sick may not be in con- 
dition to attend to exhortations ; and, when they 
are, it requires much discretion to observe the due 
mean betwixt terrifying them too much on the one 
hand, and encouraging them too much on the other. 
He can lay before them, from the scriptures, what 
a christian ought to be, and assist their consciences 
in examining what they were, and what they are. 
In so serious a season, this examination and review 
of life may excite such holy affections and resolu- 
tions in those wiio were good in the main, as may 
be of comfort to themselves, and of use to others. 
The light that burned but dimly may thus be trim- 
med, if the sick in time had provided oil for the 
lamp. If, unhappily, he did not, we must not, in 
opposition to scripture, give ground to think, that, 
after the call to meet the bridegroom is given, it 
may yet be provided. 

In all cases, however, it will be proper that the 
minister pray with and for the sick, in such terms as 
scripture may warrant and allow. It will be proper 
also, that he inform himself of their conduct and 
character, if he does not already know it, so that 
he may be able to address them suitably, endeavour- 
ing, in all tenderness and love, to convince the un- 
godly, to strengthen the weak, to comfort such as 
require consolation, to direct them how to improve 
their afflictions, to help them to be sensible of the 
evil of sin, of the faults and neglects of their lives, 
of the vanity of the world/of the necessity of a Sa- 
viour, of the sufficiency of the redeemer, and the 



230 LECTURE XXiV. 

certainty and excellency of the everlasting glory. 
He is to exhort them to exercise faith and repen- 
tance, and to set their affections on the things that 
are above. Sometimes he may meet with those 
who are so insensible of their sin and danger, that he 
must endeavour to awaken them with the terrors of 
God, the judgment, and the wrath to come. He 
must endeavour to make them sensible of their sins, 
by specifying such as he may know or suspect them 
to have been guilty of, and then urge them to such 
acts of repentance as they may yet be able to per- 
form. Yet, " if they have been men of a bad course 
" of life, he must give them no encouragement to 
ft hope much from this death-bed repentance, though 
ei he is to set them to implore the mercies of God 
" in Christ Jesus, and to do all they can to obtain 
" his favour. But, unless the sickness has been of 
u a long continuance, and that a person's repent- 
" ance, his patience, and his piety, have been very 
" extraordinary during the course of it, he must be 
u sure to give no positive ground of hope, but 
*' leave him to the mercies of God ; for there can- 
" not be any greater treachery to souls, or any 
" thing that is more fatal and pernicious, than the 
" giving quick and easy hopes to dying persons, 
" upon so short, so forced, and so imperfect a re- 
" pentance. It not only makes those persons perish 
" securely themselves, but it leads all about them 
Ct to destruction, when they see one, of whose bad 
" life and late repentance they have been the wit- 
" nesses, put so soon in hopes; nay, by someun- 
" faithful guides, made sure of salvation. There- 
a fore, though no dying man is to be driven to 
" despair, and left to die obstinately in his sins 
" (as the best thing he can do, in any event, is to 
" repent ;) yet, if we love the souls of our people, 
i* if we set a due value on the blood of Christ, and 
" if we are touched with anv sense of the honour 



LECTURE XXIV. 231 

ft and interests of religion, we must not say any 
" thing that may encourage others, who are but 
" too apt, of themselves, to put off all to the last 
u hour.''* 

Reason, common sense, the nature of man, who 
is a child of habit, his condition in a state of disci- 
pline and probation, the nature of God, and the na- 
ture of the heavenly felicity, with the necessity of 
our inward faculties being adapted to the outward 
objects, all declare against the efficacy of a late and 
death bed repentance, and though the scripture is 
somewhat reserved and silent on the point, the whole 
tenour of it is against it, without a single promise, or 
a single example, to encourage us to trust to it. 
What comfort, then, can we pretend or dare to give 
to those who have brought themselves to so unhappy 
a situation ? But, God forbid we should torment 
them before the time, by tearing them from the 
slender twig by which they hang. Let us rather 
recommend and leave them to that mercy which 
they have abused and forfeited, and say, with Au- 
gustine, " we accept of their repentance who de- 
u layed their conversion to the end of their lives ; 
u but we make no great account of such conver- 
4i sions." 

In comparison of this, how pleasant is our task 
when we have to do with real christians, or true 
and holy believers ! In our visits to persons of this 
stamp, it is our business to make them comfortably 
hope for the kingdom which God hath promised to 
those that love him, to commit their souls to their 
Redeemer, and quietly rest in the will, the love, and 
the promises of God ; and to glorify him now by 
bearing, as formerly by doing, his holy will. We 
are to labour to make them willing, if their time is 



* Burnet's Past. Care, 



232 LECTURE XXIV. 

come, to depart and be with Christ, and to exhort 
them to make reparation to such as they may have ? 
in an manner of way, wronged ; to forgive any who 
may have wronged them ; to make a pious, just, and 
charitable disposal of all their worldly affairs ; to de- 
clare their experience of the goodness and faith- 
fulness of their covenant- God ; and to recommend 
the choice which they have made to those whom they 
leave behind them. 

If such as thought themselves dvino\ should, at 
any time, recover, it is our business to remind them 
of any vows, promises, or resolutions they may have 
made (as is usually the case) in the time of their 
sickness, that their future life may show the sincerity 
of their professions, and bring forth the fruits of 
righteousness, which, if they fail to do, we must ad- 
monish and reprove them, and, if need be, denounce 
the judgments of God against them; so shall we 
save, if not their souls, at least our own. 

And if the afflictions of the body call for our sym- 
pathy and aid, my brethren, how much more do the 
afflictions and distresses of the soul ! These are hea- 
viest in themselves ; for the spirit of a man may bear 
his infirmities, hut a wounded spirit, who can bear ? 
Yet these generally meet with the least sympathy and 
pity from the world. Alas ! instead of pity, the 
world is too often disposed to treat the poor sufferer 
with contempt and scorn; or, at best, to prescribe 
such medicines as serve rather to fester than to heal 
his wounds. Thus, some send for music, as Saul did 
for a harper, when the evil spirit vexes with tempta- 
tions. Hence the necessity lies the stronger upon us, 
who ought to be physicians of the soul, to show all 
tenderness and pity, to examine into the nature of 
the disease, and (if it falls within our province, and 
is not the effect of bodily distemper) to apply the 
proper remedy. 



LECTURE XXIV. 233 

But where is this remedy to be found ? I answer, 
in the word of God only, and more particularly in 
the promises of scripture, and in the experiences of 
the saints therein recorded. Of every thing else pre- 
scribed by the world for the ease of a wounded con- 
science, such as, mirth, company, and amusements, 
we may say, as Job did of his friends, Miserable 
comforters are they all. But to apply properly the 
remedies contained in scripture, requires much pru- 
dence and skill in the spiritual physician. An awa- 
kened conscience is a powerful casuist, and needs of- 
ten all the knowledge which we can derive from ca- 
suistical divinity, from practice, and experience, as 
well as a deep insight into human nature, and a tho- 
rough acquaintance with the word of God, in order 
to satisfy all it's queries, and solve all it's doubtings. 
Indeed, sometimes the case is otherwise, and very 
weak things may trouble a weak christian. But, even 
then, it is our part to regard these lesser scruples of a 
tender conscience with the utmost condescension, 
sympathy, and mildness. It is our part to calm the 
troubled mind, to appease the timorous conscience, 
and to communicate consolations to the afflicted soul, 
that wishes to be instructed, guided, comforted, and 
established. To such, it is our part to represent the 
truth, in a manner so clear, and strong, and affection- 
ate, as to open the heart both to conviction and con- 
solation. We ought to imitate him who never broke 
the bruised reed, nor quenched the smoking flax. — 
We ought, like him, to bind up that which is broken 
in spirit, and to strengthen that which is weak and ex- 
ercised with temptations. Yes, we ought, like the 
Great Shepherd, to carry the lambs in our bosom, by 
showing the most affectionate regard to the young 
and timid convert, and to lead gently those that are 
with young, in whom the work of grace is no more 
than forming, and whose hearts are greatly oppressed 
with doubts and difficulties. And, to do all this as 

F f 



234 LECTURE XXIV. 

we ought, what skill, and prudence, and patience^ 
and diligence, and, above all, what bowels of com- 
passion, and tender affection, are required ! Who is 
sufficient for these things ! Or who, indeed, could 
attempt these, and all the other difficulties of our of- 
fice, if we had not the promise of the Spirit of God 
to aid u&? 

Notwithstanding this great and precious promise, 
however, it is to be feared, that some of us may not 
set about these duties so cheerfully as we ought, since 
the labour which they infer is so weighty. But, if 
they infer labour, take up time, deprive us of inno- 
cent amusements, and interrupt our studies, yet this 
is the business which we have deliberately chosen, 
which we have vowed to perform, and to which we 
were solemnly devoted. And, if there is much of 
the duty left to our own consciences (as no laws can 
reach to every particular case), we ought, on that 
account, if we have any ingenuousness, to discharge 
it the more willingly and faithfully, and, on all oc- 
casions, study more to fulfil than to evade our duty. 
For, if we do no more than what we may be com- 
pelled to do, and only make a fashion of doing what, 
for shame,, we cannot omit, we must look but for 
little success- in this world, and for no reward in the 
other. In either world, every thing that is truly 
good is to be attained only by diligence and labour. 
This is the prise which God hath put upon every 
thing that is truly valuable. 

But that labour, my brethren, which we dread so 
much in discharging this part of our duty, may be 
greatly lessened, if a minister carries on his pastoral 
visits, and his catechisings, at the same time, in dif- 
ferent parts of his cure. By this mean, not only a 
due interval will be kept between these exercises, in 
the same place, but much of the visiting of the sick 
will fall in his way, on his catechising or visiting 
days. 



LECTURE XXIV. 235 

Besides the labour which attends this part of our 
duty, it will perhaps be urged by such as wish to 
avoid it, that it exposes to much danger, especially 
in the case of visiting persons who are afflicted, with 
infectious diseases. In regard to this, after observ- 
ing, that our great pattern went straight from the 
service of the sanctuary to the family that had the 
fever,* I shall do little more than repeat the words 
of one who spent a great part of his life and fortune, 
in doing that, from choice, which we are called to 
do from duty. " I have been frequently asked, 
" (says the heavenly Howard, whose humanity led 
" him to visit most of the jails in Europe,) I have 
" been frequently asked, what precautions I use to 
" preserve myself from infection in the prisons and 
" hospitals which I visit ? I here answer, next to 
u the free goodness and mercy of the author of my 
" being, temperance and cleanliness are my chief 
" preservatives. Trusting in the divine providence, 
" and believing myself in the way of my duty, I 
" visit the most noxious cells ; and, while thus em- 
" ployed, I fear no evil. I never enter an hospital 
(i or prison before breakfast; and., in an offensive 
" room, I seldom draw my breath deeply.'' When 
God and duty calls us, my brethren, we may safely 
go any where, and trust to him, who sends us, for 
protection. " If I were obliged," says Luther, " to 
" encounter, at Wormes, as many devils as there are 
* c tiles on the houses of that city, this would not de- 
" ter me from appearing there, when I go at the 
" call of duty and religion." In obedience to this 
call, the Jewish priests, without fear, visited even the 
lepers. t I am ashamed to say more. Yonder the 
physician goes to the hospital. 

In like manner, should we, my brethren, perform 
our duty, and trust the consequence to God. Our 

* Mark i. 29. 30. t Lev. xiii. & xiv. andPsal. xci. 



236 LECTURE 3X1 V. 

times are in his hands, and neither death nor dis- 
ease can touch us, without his permission. Rabbi 
Simeon ben Chalaph, a priest of awful sanctity, was 
invited to the banquet which a wealthy Jew made at 
the circumcision of his son. The richest and the 
oldest wines were served, and the heart of the father 
was glad. " Rejoice with me, my friends," said he, 
" till my old age, my wine and my son shall cheer 
*' me.' , The feast was protracted beyond the mid- 
night hour ; but Rabbi Simeon withdrew in the twi- 
light. On his way home, he met the angel of death, 
with his countenance clouded with sorrow. " Why 
*' art thou so sad," said Simeon, H seeing thou art 
*< the messenger of Jehovah ?" " I am grieved," re- 
plied the angel, " at the foolish conversation of mor- 
** tals, who promise to themselves long life, when 
" their days are already numbered. The man with 
" whom you just now parted, as he said, ' till my 
" old age, my wine and my son shall cheer me,' in 
" three days must die." " Sad indeed," said Sime- 
" on ; but tell me, I beseech thee, when art thou to 
" come for me ?" " Over thee, and the like of 
" thee," said the angel of death, Ci I have no power ; 
Ct for your timos are in the hands of God himself ; 
u and, in consideration of the good works in which 
" you abound, and in which he delights, he often 
" protracts your lives, in despite of every danger, and 
i: over you extends his own pavilion."* 

Independent, indeed, of this particular providence, 
which guards the good, those exalted, exquisite, and 
most refined pleasures, which attend upon the exer 
cise of beneficence, and that cheerfulness of spirits, and 
strong hope of immortality, which result from a 
consciousness of having done one's duty, and of be- 
ing in favour with God, are, in the highest degree, 
conducive to health, and of wonderful efficacy in 

* Yid. Ellehhaddabh. rak. ap, Lightfoot; Hor.Heb. 



LECTURE XXIV. 237 

bearing up a faithful minister, under all the toil and 
burden of his office. Besides, a spirit ardently in- 
tent on the pursuit of great and noble objects, is ele- 
vated above those cankering cares, and guilty fears, 
which usually prey upon the vitals, and both increase 
the miseries, and lessen the measure, of the days of 
man. 

But, the greatest encouragement of all to the dis- 
charge of every part of our office, is the promise of 
the divine presence and assistance, so peculiarly 
made to the servants of God in the holy ministry. 
And, if God be with us, can any thing be too hard 
for us ? No ; through Christ strengthening us, we 
can do all things. Hence those wonders of doing 
and of suffering, which the most faithful servants of 
God have, in all ages, been enabled to go through. 
They found the powers of the soul expand in pro- 
portion to the objects which it had to compass, when 
conscious of the goodness of their cause, insomuch 
that the world has often been astonished at what this 
true enthusiasm has been able to perform. What then 
should discourage us in a service in which we have 
such present pleasures, such future prospects, such 
great and precious promises, that as our day so shall 
our strength be, and such a cloud of witnesses to whom 
these promises have, in all ages, been fulfilled. 

So much for that part of our daily duty which re- 
lates to visiting the sick. We next proceed to speak 
of that discipline and order, which, as apart of his 
office, a minister ought to maintain among his people. 



LECTURE XXV. 

The subject of Daily Duties,*— Continued. 
IV. DISCIPLINE, &c. 

PRIVATE admonition is the first and most ne- 
cessary part of discipline, and, if duly exercised 
" as need may require and as occasion may be giv- 
" en," there would seldom be any necessity of pro 
ceeding farther. Every faithful minister, therefore, 
will make conscience of this part of his duty, and 
administer admonition, exhortation, and reproof to 
all within his cure, as prudence may direct, and as 
their respective circumstances may require, that he 
may thus " maintain and set forward, as much as 
M lieth in him, quietness, and peace, and love, among 
€( all christian people, and especially among those of 
his own cure."* And this he must do without re- 
spect of persons. He must not, through a mistaken 
tenderness for some, or from a fear of incurring the 
displeasure of others, allow any to live without 
due censure, in the open practice of scandalous crimes, 
when he ought to rebuke them with authority, that o- 
thers also may fear. At the same time, he ought to 
do all this without any unnecessary severity, or any 
offence to good manners. Reproof, like physic, 
should be so sweetened and prepared, as to be made 
palatable ; otherwise corrupt nature will reject it, 
however salutary it may be. As it was in the ark of 
the tabernacle of old, the manna and the rod must go 
together, t 

* Liturgy of the Church of England-. 

t In area tabernaculi erant virga correctioois, manna dul- 
cedinis. 



LECTURE XXV. 239 

In no part of our duty, nay brethren, is it necessa- 
ry to shew your love and meekness more than in 
private admonitions ; lest you should provoke when 
you wish to reform. You must therefore deal with 
the offenders, not only with the opportunity and 
earnestness which becomes a man employed on the 
part of God, but also with the tender love of a pa- 
rent for the soul of his child. You must commend 
where you can ; blame where you must. Show that 
you are always more concerned than angry. Re- 
present no fault as greater than it really is ; and rea- 
dily admit of excuses for the past, when accompani- 
ed with promises of amendment for the future. De- 
light more to caution than reprove, and,, above all, 
encourage and exhort. 

Our admonitions, my brethren, ought not only to 
be given in private, but kept private also ; that; it may 
appear to the admonished that they have proceeded 
from a sense of duty, a tender regard to their persons, 
and a strong love to their souls. Then may we hope 
that the seed thus sown shall, sooner or later, spring 
up in their hearts, and that the happy fruits of it will 
appear in their better conduct. Sometimes, indeed, 
our labour may be lost ; but then we have done our 
duty, and our judgment is vciih our God. Some- 
times, too, the case may be so forbidding; that to of- 
fer our admonitions would be imprudent. But this 
will happen bat rarely, if we watch every favoura- 
ble opportunity, while any hope may be left us, 
Much of the success of our admonitions depends on 
the manner and time in which we give tiiem. 

When private admonitions have no effect, and a 
person's sins are public and scandalous, his minister 
ought not only to deny him sealing ordinances, which 
probably he may not think of asking, but if he con- 
tinue contumacious, ought to follow the method di- 
rected by the church, to make sinners ashamed, and 
io separate such from holy things, till they have §di- 



240 LECTURE XXV, 

fied the church as much by their repentance and the 
outward profession of it, as they had formerly scan- 
dalized it by their disorders. By this means he will 
observe the rule appointed by Christ in his church, 
of regarding as heathens those who will not listen to 
our admonitions, of noting those who walk disorder- 
ly, of separating ourselves from them, of having no 
fellowship with them, no, not so much as to eat with 
them. To the last expedient, however, of extruding 
them from the communion of the faithful, in solemn 
form, we must have recourse but very seldom. Ex- 
communication is of too awful a nature to be made 
too common cr familiar. For my own part, I hope 
God will enable me to discharge my duty with faith- 
fulness, without ever using so desperate a remedy. 
In nothing, my brethren, do we need more prudence 
than in using the power of the keys. 

<c The admonishing of men of rank, who set an 
* f ill example to others, ought always to be done in 
1 ' that way which will probably have the best effect 
*< on them. Therefore it must be done secretly, and 
ff with expressions of tenderness and respect for their 
" persons. Fit times are to be chosen for this; and 
" it in ay be often the best way to do it by a letter ; 
" for there may be ways fallen upon of reproving 
" the worst men in so soft a manner, that if they 
" are not reclaimed, yet they shall not be irritated or 
" made worse by it ; which is but too often the case 
< f of an idiscrect reproof. By this means the mini- 
4< ster may save the sinner's soul : he is at least sure 
44 to save his own, by having discharged his duty ,"* 

Besides endeavouring to reform the wicked, our 
admonitions will further aim at stirring up the negli- 
gent to more care, and at making the good them- 
selves more eminent in piety and virtue. And if we 
are careful to embrace every opportunity of doing so 
— , . ,. , i — ~ — - — 

* Burnet's Past. Care. 



LECTURE XXV. 241 

with prudence, we shall have no cause to complain 
of the want of success. The mean is in itself so 
likely, that the best and greatest of the heathen mo- 
ralists assiduously practised it, as the most promising 
method to effect a reformation. " It has been the 
u . custom of my life, (says Socrates* to the men of 
" Athens) to be taking you aside, one after another, 
" like a father or an elder brother, and to be inces- 
a santly exhorting you to apply yourselves to virtue ; 
" as I take it God has pitched upon me for this very 
i$ purpose." A speech worthy of the notice, and an 
example worthy of the imitation of every faithful 
minister of the gospel. 

It is hardly necessary to observe, that the duties 
now mentioned cannot be performed by a minister 
without residing constantly among his people, and 
attending daily to his charge. It is required of all 
those to whom the care of souls is committed, that 
they take heed to themselves and to ail the flock over 
whom the Holy Ghost hath made them overseers, 
that they govern well the church of God, which he 
hath purchased with his own blood ; that they watch, 
and labour, and fulfil their ministry ; all which they 
cannot do, if as hirelings, they forsake the flock 
committed to them, and do not watch over those 
sheep, whose blood will be required at their hands 
at the last day. For it is certain, that no excuse will 
be received if the wolf devours the sheep, when the 
shepherd does not attend them.t It is also required 
of those to whom the care of souls is committed, to 
know their sheep, to feed them by the word of God, 
by the administration of the sacraments, by the ex- 
ample of a good life, by administering consolation 

* In his Apology, 
t Act. Concil. Trid. Sess. 6. and Sess. 23. &c " It is or. 
V dained, That ministers, non-residents at their flocks, be 
" deprived. " Act, Assemb. 1638. 

G or 



242 LECTURE XXV. 

admonition, and reproof, to the sick, and to the whole 
within their care, as occasion shall he given. It is 
required of them to hold up the weak, heal the 
wounded, bind up the broken, bring again the out- 
casts, seek the lost. In a word, it is required of them, 
to lay themselves out in all the functions of their mi- 
nistry. Now ail this cannot be performed by those 
who do not watch over their flock, and reside with 
it as constantly as possible ; much less by those who 
unwarrantably, and for filthy lucre's sake, take up- 
on them more charges than one at once. Ah ! my 
brethren, if we, who by our exhortations teach 
others to set their affections on things above, show, 
in this manner, that our own chief desire is to acquire 
wealth and worldly honour, to seek after company 
and amusement abroad, or even to enjoy ourselves 
in indolence at home, our condemnation must be 
as dreadful as our guilt is aggravated. " We are al- 
" lowed accommodation and subsistence in our 
u charge, to enable us to reside with our people con- 
" stantly, that we may know them thoroughly, and 
" consequently speak to them suitably ; that our pre- 
" sence may awe the bad and encourage the good ; 
" and that we may lay hold of every opportunity 
"that offers, to minister advice and comfort to the 
" sick and afflicted, relief to the needy, instruction 
" to the ignorant, and friendly offices to all, as need 
" shall require and occasion be given. This is what 
ci we owe to our flocks, and what we owe to our 
" Lord ; and the present peace and final comfort of 
" our souls depend on our never neglecting it, on any 
" plea but such as our conscience assures us will be 
" sustained at the tribunal of Christ. There our di- 
" ligence and zeal will be the condition of our ac- 
" ceptance, and the measure of these the measure 
" of our reward. If we content ourselves with a 
" partial discharge of our duty, and, by absence, 
" or indolence, or amusement, or business, or even 



LECTURE XXV. 243 

<* studies, are lost to our people, or worse than lost 
« ' to them by any levity or imprudence, our presence 
<e •vill be of little avail. But this is no excuse for 
" absence, but a strong reason for being active and 
" useful, as well as for being present."* 

Let no minister, therefore, imagine that he may 
at any time absent himself from his charge, his sin- 
gle charge, without such an excuse as he may be 
able to plead before God in judgment. Nor let him 
suppose that it is enoughs if he be present, to perforin 
the stated and occasional duties of his office. '* The 
" stated and occasional duties! Good God! Is this 
" our care, our anxious concern for the souls of those 
" of whom we are to give an account to our Redeem- 
" er? How many occasions do we thus lose, where 
■* a single word, perhaps, might rescue a poor wretch 
«* from sin and misery ! (for a single word will of- 
" ten encourage the good, check the bad, support 
" the weak, and resolve the doubting-) And where 
* * is the influence of our example !"t 

In short my brethren, nothing else will save us, 
than to labour diligently in God's vineyard, from first 
to last, for the good of souls. £ All this, it is true, 

* Archbishop Seeker's Charge. 

t Bishop Bagot's Charge, 1784. 
% " Stewards, watchmen, shepherds, labourers, these and ev- 
'' ery other expression that implies personal attention, unre- 
" mitted assiduity, vigilance, and fidelity, are applied to 
" you in scripture. You are commanded, before God and 
«« the Lord Jesus Christ, to be instant, in season and out of 
" season, to reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering 
" and doctrine ; to watch in all things ; to do the work of 
<< an evangelist, and make full proof of your ministry/' 
And the ordination office enjoins, " That you never cease 
•' your labour, your care, and diligence, until you have 
" done all that lieth in you. according to your bounden duty, 



244 LECTURE XXV. 

cannot be accomplished without the most unremitting 
diligence and pains. But this will seem no hard mat- 
ter to such as have a right sense of their ordination 
vows, of the value of souls and, of the dignity of 
their office. Their heart is in their work, and the 
love which they bear to it will make every part of it 
appear a pleasure rather than a burden. They would 
not exchange it, with all their toils, for any station 
power, profit or honour, among mortals. Nor none 
of them can compare with ours, in point of either 
present pleasures or future prospects, if we acquit 
ourselves as becomes our character. Why then 
should we make any account of our labour ? u In all 
u other professions, those who follow them labour 
'■ in them all the year long, and are hard at their 
" business everyday of the week, and almost every 
" hour of the day. Indeed, there is no trade or 
" course of life, that does not take up the whole 
" man ; and shall ours only be an exception ? Ours, 
" that is the noblest of all, and that has a certain 
" subsistence fixed to it, and does not live by con- 
" tingencies and hopes, as all others do ; and shall 
u we make the labouring in our business an objec- 

ts to bring all such as are, or shall be committed to your 
ie charge, unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge 
" of God, and that ripeness and perfectness of aid in Christ, 
" that there be no place left among you, either for error 
" in religion, or viciousness in life." 

" These are all of them evidently personal duties ; and it 
*' is to my conception utterly impossible for any man, who 
" seriously believes lhat he must give an account of his stew 
" ardship at the last day, to read such injunctions as these, 
" and then render himself incapable of fulfilling them, by 
*' absenting himself from his cure, seeking amusement or 
" employment elsewhere, and trusting to another for the dis- 
" charge of duties which belong solely and entirely to him- 
" *clf." Bishop Beilby's Charge, 1790. 



LECTURE XXV. 243 

: * tion against any part of our duty ?"* On ght we 
not to have laid our account with all this labour 
when we entered upon the office of the holy minis- 
try ? We then undertook a charge, which the scrip- 
tures frequently compare to whatever requires most 
labour, as well as most care and diligence among 
mankind. We undertook an office compared, indeed, 
from it's dignity, to that of rulers, ambassadors, and 
even angels ; while the names of builders, labour- 
ers, and soldiers, and the significant emblem of our 
Lord's washing the feet of his disciples, show the ne- 
cessity of incessant labour, and of descending to the 
meanest offices of charity for our brethren. We un- 
dertook to be guides, instructors, pastors, watchmen, 
stewards, to that people over whom the Holy Ghost, 
hath made us overseers. We have, under Christ, un- 
dertaken to lead a band of his soldiers against prin- 
cipalities, and powers, and spiritual wickednesses in 
high places. We must go before them in the sharp- 
est conflicts ; we must acquaint them with all the 
stratagems and assaults of their enemies, we must 
watch ourselves, and keep them watching, for if we 
neglect this, both they and we together may perish. 
And then how shall we answer it to Christ at the 
last day, when he calls us to account for those souls 
which he purchased with his precious blood ! How 
shall we face our people, when we meet them at his 
tribunal ? Or how can we hope to be saved, if only 
one soul through our neglect has perished ? 

" I confess (said a faithful servant of God) that 
" I seldom hear the bell toll for one that is dead, 
" but conscience asks me, what hast thou done for 
" the saving of that soul before it left the body? 
: There is one more gone into eternity, what didst 
*' thou to prepare him for it? and what testimony 
" must he give to the judge concerning thee ? Such 



* Burnet's Past. Care. 



246 LECTURE XXV. 

<•' questions will naturally occur, at such a time, to 
" every minister, whose conscience has not lost ail 
" feeling and tenderness. When one of our flock 
" passes the awful line of separation, or when we are 
u laying his remains in the chamber of darkness, how 
" can we help reflecting with ourselves, and saying, 
" here lies the body, but where is the soul? What 
a did I for it before it departed ? It was part of my 
u charge, what account can I give of it to God?"* To 
enable us to give our account with joy, and not with 
grief, we ought, my brethren, to labour in our min- 
istry day and night, with unremitting ardour ; consi- 
dering that many of the souls under our charge may, 
alas ! in a few days be out of our reach, and for ever 
fixed in heaven or hell. How should this considera- 
tion teach us to improve every moment, and to grasp 
eagerly at every opportunity of doing them all the 
good we can ? especially when we consider how ma- 
ny things there are in one soul that need our notice ; 
how many such souls we have to do with ; how ig- 
norant the most of them are in things of everlasting 
moment : and, what is still worse, how unwilling 
they are to learn them ; and that we can speak to 
them perhaps but once for fifty or a hundred times 
that they are addressed by the emissaries of Satan ! 
What activity, industry, and zeal, must we have to 
go through our labours ! What firmness of mind to 
support us under all the difficulties and trials of our 
calling ! And what need of earnest prayers for the 
Spirit of God to help us ! 

Seeing, therefore our office requires the most in- 
cessant diligence, how dreadful and aggravated will 
our final condemnation be, if souls under our mini 
stry perish by our neglecting any part of the great 
work which we have undertaken ! " Our parents 
" who destined us for the ministry ; our tutors who 



* Baxter's Reformed Pastor: 



LECTURE XXV. 24,7 

** taught us for it ; our learning and ministerial gifts ; 
u our voluntary undertaking the care of souls ; all 
" the care of God for his church ; all that Christ 
6 hath done and suffered for it ; all the precepts, 
i( promises and threatening^ of the holy scriptures ; 
" all the examples of prophets, apostles and preach- 
(% ers there recorded ; all the books in our study 
lC which tells us of our duty, or any way assist us in 
" it, all will rise in judgment against us ! All the ser- 

* mons which we have preached to convince men 
" of the danger of sin, of the torments of hell, of 
" the joys of heaven ; to quicken them in their du- 
'* ty, or reprove their neglect ; all the maintenance 
" we take for our service ; all the honour we re- 
" ceive from the people ; all the ministerial privile- 
" ges we enjoy ; all the witness we have borne to 
" the neglect of our ministers ; all the judgments and 
" mercies of God with which we have been acquaint- 
" ed ; all the fervent prayers of God's people, which 
" were offered on our account ; and, finally, all our 

* own vows, promises, and resolutions, for diligence 
tC in our work, will, at the last great day, aggravate 
il our condemnation, if we are found unfaithful in 
a our Master's service."* 

Such awful considerations, my brethren, may 
alarm us, if softer motives will not allure us, to 
our duty. But, as I would hope that these last may 
have a considerable influence upon the best and most 
ingenuous part of our nature, I shall here suggest a 
few of them, in the words of an excellent perform 
ance, cited on several occasions already. " Let us 
fcw consider our respective congregations, my bre- 
Ci thren, in the nearest and most interesting point 
" of light, even as a certain portion of our feliow- 
" travellers, committed to' our care, through thi:3 

* journey of human life, and, by appointment of pro- 

* Baxter's Reformed Pastor. 



248 LECTURE XXV- 

*' vidence, especially entrusted to us for direction, as- 
" sistance, and consolation. When we view our peo- 
'• pie in this new and endearing relation, as depend 
•' ing on us for instruction when ignorant, for help 
" when distressed, and for comfort when afflicted, 
" we must be very insensible if we do not feel a new 
4 ' flow of good will towards them, a strong inclina- 
t; tion to enter into their concerns, to take their 
" pains and their feelings upon us, and to watch for 
" opportunities of doing them good. What though 
" kind offices among them should take up much 
-' time, require much pains, put us to much real trou- 
". ble and inconvenience, rob us of many agreeable 
•' amusements, and greatly interrupt delightful and 
" useful studies ! A just sense of the important rela- 
" tion in which we stand to our respective flocks, 
4 ' and a genuine feeling of that tender affection 
" which is due to them, will not allow us to hesitate 
lt one moment, whether that part of our time is most 
" worthily employed, which is taken up in doing real 
" offices of friendship among them; or that part of 
" it which is spent in perusing the finest writings of 
" the greatest geniuses that ever appeared in the 
" world; or in polishing any little compositions of 
" our own. Is the arranging of words, the rneasur- 
" ing periods, the beautifying of language, or even 
*■* storing our own minds with the divinest senti- 
t( ments, an employment of equal dignity and im- 
" portance in itself, or equally pleasant; on reflec 
*' tion, with that of composing differences, extin- 
" guishing animosities, searching out modest in Jigent 
" merit, and relieving it, giving counsel to a pcrplex- 
" ed mind, suspending pain by our sympathy and 
" presence, though it were but for a moment, sug- 
,J gesting to an unfurnished mind proper materials for 
" meditation in the time of distress, or laying hold of 
" a favourable opportunity of conveying valuable in- 
•' structions, and religious impressions, to a mind 



LECTURE XXV. 249 

" little susceptible of them on other occasions? There 
rt is no need of saying any thing in confirmation of 
*' this ; it was the glorious character of Jesus, that 
" he went aboid doing good /'* 

To conclude, my brethren, let us make the inter- 
est of our people our own. Let their advancement 
in knowledge and holiness be our honour, their 
consolation our joy, their prosperity or adversity our 
pleasure or pain. Let all we are, all we have, be 
devoted, as much as possible, to their service. In a 
word, let us live only for Christ and his church ; and 
in his service, if called to it, let us rejoice to die. Let 
us reckon, with the apostle, not even our life dear, 
provided we accomplish the ministry we have re- 
ceived from the Lord. Happy the pastor who is 
thus devoted to his charge ! To him every labour is 
sweet, every toil is pleasant. His whole life is one la- 
bour of love, and his death an entrance into heaven I 

♦Leechman's Syn. Serm, 



Hh 



LECTURE XXVI. 

0f the Domestic Duties, o?* Family Religion, of a Mi* 
nister of the Gospel. 

HAVING enumerated some of the daily duties of 
a minister in his parish, I might now speak of those 
which, in common with all other good christians*, 
he ought to discharge in the closet and family. But, 
of the first of these, what has been already said on 
the subject of prayer, may at present suffice ; and, 
instead of delineating the last, I shall only relate the 
following narrative, which I had, of the daily prac- 
tice of the venerable and aged Theophilus, from 
one who had spent a day or two in his family. " As 
" I approached his house in the evening, I heard, as I 
Ct drew near, the voice of psalms. The family were 
c « engaged in worship, and so intent on their devo- 
" tions, that I joined them, I believe, without being 
< c observed. The singing, continued long enough to- 
" animate, but not to tire. A portion of scripture 
u was then read, with a solemnity and emphasis be- 
" coming the word of God. On this the saint made 
" a few short, but pertinent reflections and practical 
" improvements, as soon as he had done. He also 
" introduced much of what he had read into the de- 
« voutand fervent prayer which ensued, during which 
" the whole family kneeled, but did not lean. The 
" whole was closed with an evening hymn, and the 
" Gloria Patri, at which, as in the singing of psalms, 
u the most of them, I think, stood, (deeming this, 
" I suppose, the most reverent posture in addressing 
"and praising God,) while their hands, eyes, and, 
" I am persuaded, their hearts too, were lifted up to 



XECTURE XXY1. 251 

li heaven. I thought I perceived every one repeat- 
" ing the words under his breath, and giving a heai*- 
" ty assent to every petition This, perhaps, con- 
" tributed to make them more serious and attentive. 

« Worship being ended, the saint gave me the right 
* L hand of fellowship, and discoursed of various sub- 
" jects, in a heavenly and edifying manner, suited to 
" his profession, to his years, and to his near hopes. 
" A temperate and frugal meal was then served, on 
" which the saint, standing up, and raising his hands 
** and eyes to heaven, implored the divine blessing, 
" with a solemn audible voice, and of a length becom- 
" ing a joint and serious act of devotion. With the 
-" like exercise the meal was closed, and the family, 
i 6 with many pious ejaculations, went to take their 
" repose for the night. Their private devotions, which 
" they performed by turns, as each had opportunity, 
" were, as I understand, all over before supper, when 
" the faculties are less subject to drowsiness and dis- 
u traction, and therefore the fitter for a spiritual ser- 
" vice. 

" As the day ended, so it began, with God. — 
" Each, as he rose next morning, betook himself 
*' to private devotions ; and, some time afterwards, 
" the whole joined in family worship, before they 
u sat down to their morning meal. After a solemn 
" pause, a few words, by way of sursum corda, and 
fe a pious ejaculation to God for aid and acceptance, 
e( the service proceeded in the same order as on the 
" preceding night. The hymns, on both occasions, 
« were adapted to christian worship, as well as to 
" the particular season ; not unlike those of Bishop 
" Kenn, part of whose midnight hymn also, as I 
" thought, occupied some moments, which were, at 
u the midnight season, stolen from sleep, and added 
" to the great purpose of existence, the promoting of 
" the glory of God, and the preparing for the eternal 
" c enjoyment of him in heaven. 



a 



(.(. 



%b% LECTURE XXVI. 

" The morning meal was conducted in the same 
" manner as that of the evening; and, as I was 
" urged to stay for a day or two, I now prepared to 
«' accompany Theophilus in the course of his daily 
« duty, after he should spend, as usual, an hour or 
cc two in his study or closet. The catechising of 
" about twenty persons, in a neighbouring farm, 
" was the principal business of the day, and took 
" up between two and three hours. This exercise 
u began with psalms and prayers ; after which the 
" individuals of each family were examined in order, 
u their proficiency marked in the margin of the list, 
" and their attention respectively directed to what- 
" ever points of necessary knowledge they were found 
" to be deficient in, or required their first and great- 
est care. Such as were desirous, and found quali- 
fied to communicate, received tickets of admission, 
with suitable advices ; and to the young were pre- 
" scribed tasks of hymns, psalms, and prayers. A 
(t general exhortation, joined with a hymn and pray- 
" er, closed this part of the day's business, which 
" was all performed in a lively, earnest, and solemn 
" manner. True devotion has in it something so en- 
" gaging, that I believe the profane, in hearing such 
" impressive and pathetic exhortations, would, in 
" spite of their nature, be devout. 

" The visiting of a sick person, on our way home, 
" occupied some time afterwards. The person was 
" a noviciate or candidate for holy orders, so far 
" gone in a consumption, as to be seemingly near his 
*' end, and 1 believe, more than seemingly prepared 
" for the event. When we entered, his face, like that 
" of Hezekiah, was turned to the wall, and, like him 
tC too, he was praying, but not for an addition of 
<l years or days to his life. He had been repeating, 
" as I understood, from what I overheard of it, part 
" of Hildebert's (/ratio ad Dominion, [which, in case 



LECTURE XXVI, 



253 



you may not have seen it, I hereto subjoin in 
a note*.] 

" The conference, and the consequent prayer of 
these two saints, both so near heaven, were suffi- 
cient to convince any one, that it is better to go 
to the house of mourning, than to the house of 
feasting. I never before understood so well the 
meaning of the apostle's triumphant song, O 
Death, where is thy sting ! Grave, where is thy 
victory !* 

" An hour or more of the latter part of the day 
was spent by Theophilus in his favourite and only 
amusement, of cultivating a small spot of his gar- 
den, which he did occasionally, more for the pur- 
pose of promoting health than labour. In the 
evening, as in the morning, a considerable portion 
of time was spent in private devotion and study, 
which, after a little interval, was succeeded by 



* "Tu intrare me non sinas 
Infernales officinas ; 
Ubi moeror, ubi metus, 
Ubi fcetor, ubi fletus ; 
Ubi probra deteguntur, 
Ubi rei confunduntur ; 
Ubi tortor semper caedens, 
Ubi vermis semper edens ; 
Ubi totum hoc perenne, 
Quia perpes mors Gehennae , 
" Me receptet Sion ilia, 
Sion David urbs tranquiila ; 
Cujus Faber auctor lucis , 
Cujus porta signum crucis ; 
Cujus clavis lingua Petri, 
Cujus cives semper laeti ; 
Cujus muri lapis vivus, 
Cujus custos rexfestivus. 
" In hac urbe lux solemnis, 
Ver aeternum, pax perennis; 
In hac, odor implensccelos, 
In hac, festum semper* me- 
" los. 



" Non est ibi corruptela, 
Non defectus, non querela : 
Non minuti, non deformes, 
Omnes Christo sunt confor- 

" mes, 
•* Urbs coclestis, urbs beata! 
Super peiram collocata. 
Urbs in portu satis tuto ! 
De longinquo te saluto : 
— Te saluto, te suspiro, 
Te aff'ecto, te requiro. 
" Quantum tuigratulentur ! 
Quam festive coaviventur ! 
Quis affectus eos stringat, 
A ut quae gemma muroscin- 

" gat, 
Quis Chalcedon, quis Jacin- 

«■' tus, 
— Norunt illi qui sunt intus. 
" In plateis hujus urbis, 
Sociatur pi is turbis. 
Cum Moise et Elija 
Pi urn cantem Alleluja \" 



1254 LECTURE XXVI. 

* the worship of the family, in the manner describe 
** ed before. And, as the next day was the Sabbath* 
*<• the preparation for it began, by adjusting the af- 
*" fairs of the family a little sooner, and making the 
" devotions more particular in regard to it. On this 
li evening, too, a general retrospect was taken of 
u the week, as well as of the day, and the younger 
"" and more ignorant of the family examined as to 
a their progress in religious knowledge, especially 
'" in those matters which had been more particular- 
4i ]y recommended to their attention. 

" On the Sabbath morning, Theophilus and aH 
4f the family were up earlier than on other days, 
*' in order to have more time for the exercise of 
ec reading, meditation, prayer, private and domes- 
V tic, and the other duties of that sacred day, the 
c « most important of the seven. A solemn stillness 
** filled the house, a sacred joy reigned in every 
" countenance, and the call to public worship, by 
41 the tolling of a bell when the time arrived, was 
*' cheerfully obeyed by all. On entering the church, 
* 6 every one seemed sensible of treading on sacred 
* f ground, and discovered the most awful respect 
*< for the great invisible Being whom they believed 
Gt to be in that place peculiarly present, and whom 
*•* they came thither to worship. Each, before he 
*• took his seat, put up a short silent prayer to God 
<6 for assistance, acceptance, and a blessing. 

" When the people were assembled, and sufficient- 
46 ly composed, the door was shut to prevent any dis- 
'? traction or disturbance from stragglers, or others, 
" whose indifference to the service might hinder their 
" attendance in due time. Theophilus then, in a 
" few words, called the attention of the congrega- 
" tion to the great and solemn work in which they 
Ci were about to engage, — prayer and praise to God. 
" He then sung a hymn or psalm, in which the con- 
£i gregation joined, in a standing posture, with con re- 



LECTURE XXV T. 255" 

c " tenances filled with a mixture of cheerfulness and: 
u awe. A pause ensued, and then a prayer. A por- 
" tion of scripture was next read, on which the mi- 
u nister made but few observations. Indeed, the sa- 
" cred scriptures seldom need many to make them 
"sufficiently intelligible. We mix too much of our 
" own alloy with the pure and precious word of 
" God. 

ft After this was administered the sacrament of 
" Baptism, with a solemnity and particularity of 
et engagement that could neither be lightly thought 
" of nor soon forgotten. Theophilus then, after 
" having again sung and prayed, addressed his hear- 
* c ers at some length, by teaching some doctrine or 
" inculcating some duty. But this part of the ser- 
'* vice, as I was told, he would on some rare occa^ 
** sions omit, that they might always consider the 
t( worship of God, in prayer, and praise, and read-- 
" ing the scriptures, as the principal end of their 
" meeting. A fourth prayer, also accompanied with 
•* psalms, succeeded this discourse, and the people 
st were dismissed with the usual apostolic benedic- 
" tion. Of the first prayer, the greater part con- 
" sisted of ascriptions of praise, and a craving of 
** aid and acceptance. The second related to a con- 
" fession of sin, and petitions for pardon and sane- 
" tification. The third, a thanksgiving, more espe- 
" eially for Christ and the gracious benefits of his 
" gospel. The fourth was more general and inter- 
" cessory. The hymns were suitable to the prayers, 
' ■ and the last ended with the Gloria Patri, or doxo- 
" logy. 

" Immediately after public worship was ended, the 
"communicants of that part of the parish which were 
" on that day to partake of the Lord's Supper, re- 
u paired to the communion table, after the rest of 
" the congregation was dismissed. I must observe, 
:£ that the parish being large, was divided into four 



250 LELTURE XXVf. 

44 parts ; to one or other of which, in rotation, this 
" sacrament was administered on the first Sabbath 
" of every month (whether in allusion to the three 
" great feasts of the Jews, or not, I will not pretend 
" to say.) By this means, however, all had an op- 
" portunity of communicating thrice in every year; 
" and the quarter, whose turn it was to communicate 
" next, was always that in which the minister had 
" either his course of pastoral visits, or catechising 
" the month before ; that he might thus have an 
44 opportunity of addressing every person suitably, 
^ and personally, while he gave them tokens, or 
< 4 tickets of admission, to that sacred ordinance ; 
" and especially of examining and confirming the 
" young with a view to it. By this method there 
" was never occasion for any assistant to dispense the 
" sacrament, and there was never any bustle, or 
" crowd to occasion any disturbance or distraction ; 
44 as too often happens when this sacrament is admi- 
u nistered but seldom, and ministers and congrega- 
-* tions crowd to it, as to a fair, from neighbouring 
" places. In such mixed and disorderly crowds 
" there can be little devotion ; and no body would 
" think it the fittest place for recollecting their obli- 
u gations to a dear departed relative. 

4fc After a few words on the nature and end of 
14 the ordinance, and the dispositions of soul with 
" which it should be gone about, the words of the 
" institution were read, and the elements consecrat- 
" ed and handed about from one end of the table 
" to the other, each, in his order, participating as 
" they went along, the dispenser having done so 
" first. During the communion, a solemn and ex- 
6i pressive silence reigned. Theophilus spoke not a 
4 •' word, save the single sentence which usually ac- 
44 companies the delivery of the elements. But af- 
44 ter the act was over, he gave a few exhorta- 
" tioosj with the same earnestness and solemnity 



LECTURE XXVI. 257 

a with which Tie performed all the other parts of 
" the service of the sanctuary, and accompanied 
" them with a suitable prayer, or rather thanks- 
<( giving, hymn, and benediction. 

" In holiness, usefulness, and happiness, Theophi- 
" lus lives on earth such a life as I conceive the an- 
" gels live in heaven. Blessed is that servant whom 
" his master, when he cometh, shall find so doing ! 
' Would to God we were all like him, that we 
4i might stand in his lot on the last day I" 



I I 



LECTURE XXVI I. 
Of the relaxations of a Minister of the Gospel. 

MUCH, my brethren, has been said about the va 
rious duties of our office, and much might be added 
still. But I think I already hear some brother of a 
light or a lazy turn of mind, ask, " Is there no dis- 
charge at all from this warfare; is there no respite at 
all from duty ? Has a minister no time allowed him 
for relaxation from the important work in which he 
is engaged, or for sharing in the amusements and re- 
creations of the world ? 

Sorry should I be, my brother, to refuse you any 
thing that may be truly good for you. Exercise and 
recreation in such a measure as your office may ad- 
mit, and your health require, are not forbidden. 
But then, this exercise should be such as suits your 
character. It should be manly, decent, and grave ; 
and should possess neither your mind nor your time 
too much, nor have any thing in it that may preju- 
dice your people against you. For whatever would 
offend them would, at the same time, hurt your use- 
fulness ; and, therefore, though in itself indifferent or 
lawful, would in you be highly criminal. The apos- 
tle's reasoning on another subject is equally applica- 
ble to this, and his exhortation much to the purpose. 
Take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours be- 
come a stumbling block to them that are weak. For if 
ye wound their weak consciences, ye sin against Christ. 
With him, therefore, we should resolve to abstain 
from all such things while the world standeth* 

* lCor, viii. 8—13. 



LECTURE XXVH. 259 

Do you, my brother, regularly visit and catechise 
your people ? If you do, this of itself is abundant 
exercise. But, should you wish for more, and find it 
requisite for your health to have it (which will rarely 
be the case,) # let it be of the character already men- 
tioned, and taken in great moderation, that no body 
may have cause to suspect that any thing but health is 
your object. Let it also be in proper company. When 
Alexander was asked if he would run in the Olym- 
pic games ; yes, answered he, if I may have kings 
to run with me. 

To correct any bad tendency arising from a studi- 
ous and sedentary life, should be the end of our re- 
-creations ; and therefore such amusements only as 
contribute to give exercise to the body, while they 
relieve the mind, will be of any use to us. Gaming, 
and plays, or, in other words, dice, cards, and attend- 
ance on the theatre, and such other amusements as 
serve only to waste the time, poison the mind, or 
ruffle the temper, are to be carefully shunned by us. 
They answer many a bad purpose, and no good 
one. They are unsuitable to our profession, as am- 
bassadors of Christ, and unsuitable to our charac- 
ter, as men of God. They might perhaps render us 
at times more agreeable to a few of the thoughtless 
.and profane, who may wish to have us no better than 

* " Though I have a body that hath languished under ma- 
(< ny weaknesses for many years, and my diseases have been 
" such as require as much exercise as almost any in the 
" world, and I have found exercise the principal means of 
et my preservation till now, and therefore have as muchrea- 
tS son to plead for it as any man that I know alive, yet I have 
•' found, that an hour, or half an hour's walk before meat, 
*' hath been blessed to my preservation. And I do not know 
'* one minister of an hundred, that needeth so much as my. 
fl self-" Baxter's Reformed Pastor. 



260 LECTURE XXVII. 

themselves ; but would certainly tend to degrade us 
in the opinion of every considerate and pious person, 
Nay, let us ask ourselves, if our high esteem of the 
character of Isaiah, St. Paul, or any other prophet or 
apostle, would not be greatly lowered, if it were re- 
corded of them, that they excelled in the dance or 
song, or were given to such diversions as dice, and 
cards, and attendance on the theatre ? At any rate, 
we are members of a society, whose laws do wisely 
forbid all such diversions :* And these laws our or- 
dination vows have strictly bound us to obey. 



* " Sic decet omnino clericos in forlem Domini vooatos 
*.' vitam moresque suos omnes componere, ut habitu, gestu, 
" incessu, sermone, aliisque omnibus rebus, nil nisi grave 
" moderatum, et religione plenum, prae se ferant. Levia 
* f etiam delicta (quae in ipsis maxima essent) eftugiant, ut 
*'* eorum actiones cunctis afferant venerationem. Statuit 
*' sanctasynodus, ut quae alias a summis pontificibus et a 
« f sacris conciliis, de clericorum vita, honestate, cultu doc- 
" trinaque retinenda, ac simul de luxu, commessationibus, 
" choreis, aleis, ac quibuscunque criminibus, nee non se- 
'* cularibusnegotiis fugiendis, copiose, ac salubriter sancita 
" fuerunt, eadem in posterum, iisdem pcenis, vel majoribus, 
*' arbitrio ordinarii imponendis, observentur : nee appella- 
" tioexecutionem hanc, quae ad rnorum correctionem perti- 
" net, suspendat." Concil. Trid. Sess. 22. c, 1. 

" Episcopus aut Presbyter seeulares curas non adsumet ; 
" alioqui deponatur." Canon. Apost. 6. 

" Non sint compotores, non aleatores, non aucupes, non 
(t venatores, non sycophants, non otiosi aut supini, sed 
»« sacrarumliterarum studiis, et praedicationi verbi, et ora- 
<e tionibus pro ecclesia, Dominum diligenter incumbant." 
Reform. Leg- Eccles. Angl. Anno 15 71. 

" Deformatur honestas, cum clericus se immiscet in nego- 
" tiis secularibus. Item, intendo mimiset jocularibus. Item, 
(< tabernas ingrediendo, nisi tempore itineris, Item, ad 



LECTURE XXVII. 261 

That all such amusements as these are, at all times 
and to all persons, either unlawful or inexpedient, I 
do dot say. But that they are often so to many, and 
always so to some, cannot easily be denied. Every 
one, therefore, especially of us, who takes a share in 
them, should consider seriously the nature and ten- 
dency of what he is doing. Such amusements may 
not, perhaps, incline you, my brother, to passionate, 
much less profane expressions ; they do not, perhaps, 
agitate your mind, sour your temper, or waste your 
spirits ; they do not tempt you, perhaps, to any sort 
or degree of unfairness, which might weaken the 
moral sense, be the occasion ever so trifling. But 
see if they make you not mix with company, if not 
dangerous to you, at least unsuitable : See if they do 
not devour more time than is consistent with a due 
attention to the business of your station, public or 
private, or to the regular order of your family : See 
if they do not take up any part of the time which 
ought, or at least might be spent to better purpose, 
in a religious recollection of your ways, or any other 
improvement of your own soul, or those of others, in 
piety and virtue. These amusements may not, per- 
haps, carry you the length they do many others, to 
consume a greater part of your income, than justice 

" aleas et taxillos ludendo, vel eisdem interessendo. Item., 
*' quocunque ornatu superfluo utendo/' Lindiooodde vi etha- 
nes t. Clerici. 

" It is ordained, That such as are light and wanton in their 
*' behaviour ; as in gorgeous and light apparel, in speech, in 
f < using light and profane company -, unlawful gaming, as 
* r dancing, carding, dicing, and such like, not beseeming the 
«* gravity of a pastor, be sharply rebuked, and, continuing 
'*• therein, be deposed." Act. Assemb. 1038. 

On reading these acts, every pious brother will say, as St. 
Jerome on a similar occasion, " Non de lege queror, eed do 
" leo cur banc legem meruerimus." 



-62 LECTURE XXVII. 

to your creditors, to your family, and to the poor, 
will allow. Even say they should cost you nothing; 
yet see if they do net engage your heart, and that a 
fondness for them does not grow upon you ; see if 
they do not lower your character, and lessen your 
usefulness and ability of doing good in the world. 
Or, suppose what can hardly or never be the case, 
that they do yourself no harm at all, yet, if by your 
means they do harm to others, enticing the well- 
meaning, by your example, to any thing, which, in it- 
self, or in their circumstances, may be either unlaw- 
ful or unwise, you are, without question, much to be 
blamed, and likely to be a partaker of other men's 
sins. So that, all things impartially considered, you 
will see that there is an absolute necessity, if you 
would keep yourself free from guilt, to abstain en- 
tirely from such amusements as these, which, to your- 
self or others, may be productive of so much evil.* 

Whatever approaches the vanities and disorders of 
the world, should be avoided by us, who ought not 
to be conformed to the world, but rather transform- 
eel from it. Yes, the amusements of the world, with 
all it's business, it's labours, and it's cares, ought all 
to be given up by us, unless we mean to give up our 
profession, and to be lovers of business, or of pleasure, 
more than lovers of God. What are these, may 
Christ say- to his minister, what are these to thee ? 
Follow thou me. Be going about doing good, and you 
are at once in the exercise both of duty and amuse- 
ment. Relax, at times, the mind from graver studies, 
by reading the historians and poets, by seeking more 
knowledge in any science that may be connected 
with, or subservient to your office, by applying that 
knowledge to the purposes of life, by advancing the 
temporal, and especially the eternal interests of man- 
kind. Such amusement, in subordination and sub- 

* See Archbishop Seeker's Sermons, Vol. III. 



LECTURE XXVII. 251 

serviency to the duties of your calling, is rational and 
becoming ; and more, if you wish, or rather if you 
need it, may be had from the conversation of select 
friends, and from your garden, which may have 
some share of your time, when your study and your 
parish will admit it. 

This much, my brethren, our Master and our bu- 
siness allow us, and with this we ought to hold our- 
selves contented and thankful. In other religions,, 
the infatuated ministers spend whole years in the 
most painful and unremitting exercise of what they 
conceive to be duty, though they want the grace 
which we have to support them, and the prospects 
which we have to cheer them. It is now above 
twenty years, since a disciple of JBrama, as I have 
been told by those who saw him, has been holding 
up his right arm in the same position. How easy, 
in comparison of this, is the whole amount of du- 
ty required of us> who are called to bear a yoke so 
easy, and a burden so light, that it would be consi- 
dered as no more than relaxation by Abukeker the 
Bramin.* 

Yes, my brethren, as much relaxation as nature 
requires, is happily furnished by our business, and 
we should do well to consider if any more becomes 
us. If we must have more, we should not have thrust 
ourselves into that calling, which requires us to make 
God and his work our business and our pleasure. 
Can we indeed see so many souls perishing around us, 
needing our assistance, and death giving no respite, 
and can we think of amusement, and relaxation ! 
Can we think of the joy, or torment, to which some 
of them are every moment entering, of the shortness 
of the time which we and they must be together, and 

# " In christian hearts, O for a pagan zeal ! 
" A needful, but opprobrious pray'r ! As much 
" Our arcjpur less, as greater is our light I" Youkg, 



264 LECTURE XXVII. 

can we, under the impression of such thoughts, seek 
or think of recreation ! May a physician seek his re- 
creation, when the plage is raging around him, and 
his patients daily and hourly dying of the distemper ? 
No, my brethren ; nor shall we, if we think of the 
value of souls, of their imminent danger, and of the 
urgent nature of our errand. This urgency is strong- 
ly represented by our Saviour's charge to his first 
missionaries, not to lose of precious time so much as 
to wait to salute those who should meet them by the 
way.* A life so busy as ours ought to be, has sel- 
dom any room for recreation. Nay, we should even 
take as little rest as possible, either to body or to soul. 
The bod} 7 will soon get enough of it in the grave, 
and for the soul, there remaineth a rest with God, if 
we are diligent in the discharge of our duty. 

Diversions and amusements, then, are so little 
suited to our office, that we may perhaps be con- 
sidered as acting out of character, when at any time 
we partake of them. If a church, or altar, consecra- 
ted to sacred uses, would be profaned by being con- 
verted to a theatre, or stage for acting plays or sports, 
as the sacred cups of the temple at the impious feast 
of Belshazzar, how can the priest himself, who is in a 
more solemn manner consecrated and devoted to God, 
be otherwise than polluted, by partaking of those di- 
versions, by which we should consider even metal, 
timber, and stone as profaned ? We should therefore 
remember that we are consecrated persons, and that 
even things that may not be sinful in others, are far 
from becoming in us ; to whom things even innocent 
and lawful may not always be expedient. We should 
not satisfy ourselves with avoiding the things that 
are forbidden, but strive to do the things that are com- 
manded. We should not consider what God may 

* Luke x- 4. 



LECTURE XXVII. 265 

forgive, but what he will approve ; and study not 
only to escape censure and punishment, but to obtain 
his praise and reward. And whether this may be 
expected from any diversion or amusement, be you, 
my brethren, judges. 

We are, besides, to consider ourselves as persons in 
whom the Holy Ghost resides ; and in relation to 
this, we ought frequently to consider what we do, 
as well as what we are. And we should do well to 
consider, if any diversion or amusement be a likely 
way to invite his presence, or make him delight to 
dwell with us. If these be not sinful in their nature, 
yet they may be vain and foolish, and therefore un- 
suitable to our character, and incompatible with the 
presence of the Holy Spirit. In this, does the Spi- 
rit lead me ? For this, does the spirit love me ? By 
this, am I inviting and improving his holy inspira- 
tions ? By such questions, it will be our wisdom to 
try our ways and our doings. 

Look, my brethren, to your predecessors and your 
models, the prophets and apostles of the Lord, and 
see if the love of diversions and amusements were 
spots in their character. Or, consider the fatigues 
and hardships just now endured by your brethren, 
who preach the gospel in heathen countries and in 
foreign climes. They have forsaken father, and mo- 
ther, and brother, and friend, and hold their lives 
every hour in jeopardy. And will not you, free 
from these hardships, seek pleasure and delight, not 
in vain amusements, but in serving God with glad- 
ness, for making your duty so much easier, and mak- 
ing your lines to fall in more pleasant places ? Think 
also of the multitudes who are doomed to toil and 
slave daily from morning to night, in order to obtain 
a scanty and precarious subsistence ; and then think, 
if kind providence hath exempted you from these 
hardships, which have fallen to the share of so many, 
whether you owght not to improve the distinguished 



2G6 LECTURE XXVII. 

mercy, not by wasting your Master's time and ta- 
lents in idleness and amusement, but by devoting. 
them zealously to his service, and spending them in 
the exercise of devotion and of charity ; in attending' 
to all the ways and means of doing good that are irr 
your power ; and in exalting your own souls, and 
those of others, to the highest possible degrees of 
christian perfection. 

Let none allege that these are hard sayings, and 
that none can bear them ; for experience shows that 
I contend for no more than may be easily perform- 
ed. A very large denomination of christians find it 
practicable enough to " refrain from all unprofitable 
u plays, frivolous recreations, sportings, and gainings, 
"■ which are invented to pass away precious time."* 
And shall ministers complain of being denied what 
ordinary christians are willing to dispense with ? I f 
they do, I dare not condemn them, any more than 
I would pretend to justify them. I shall only say, 
that amusements, even when most innocent in their 
nature, and moderate in their measure, are far from 
being favourable to our sacred business. Their ten- 
dency is to weaken the powers of the soul, and to 
relax that spring, with which it exerts itself in it'j 
noblest functions. Diversion is by no means a pro- 
per preparation for prayer, meditation, or any other 
religious exercise On the contrary, it takes away, 
if not the capacity, at least the relish for devotion ; 
and from this the transition is short and easy to a dis- 
like and aversion to every thing sacred and serious. 
Whereas the exercise of our intellectual, 1 social, and 
moral powers, in thinking, and conversing as ration- 
al and immortal beings, improve and enlarge our 
noblest faculties, qualify us for every act of our du- 
ty, give us the highest satisfaction in the discharge of 
it, and the sublimest pleasure on reflection. In these, 

* Barclay's Apology for the Quakers, Prop. 15. 



LECTURE XXVII. 267 

and the like exercises, therefore, should we occupy 
ourselves, if we wish for any delight that is solid and 
lasting. And whatever our relaxation be, we should 
study to make it useful as well as innocent. The one 
is common, the other is consecrated ; the one is 
amusement, the other is charity ; and I need not say 
which will give most pleasure here, or most profit 
hereafter, when all our works shall be tried as by fire. 

Wherefore, my brethren, " if at any time we share 
"in any of those amusements that are deemed the 
a most innocent, we should remember, that we are 
" even then on slippery ground, and in great danger 
" of going farther than we ought ; in great danger 
" of going farther than is innocent in us, and farther 
" than becomes our character. For nm should be 
" attentive to serious reflection in the midst ©f gaiety, 
" and seize on every opportunity of promoting what 
" is right, where too generally what is wrong abounds, 
" If we cannot always, and altogether keep Free of 
" idle amusements, and idle conversation (by which 
" I mean no more than what is generally deemed to 
" be innocent), we should at least participate of them 
" so seldom, and so little, as to show the world that 
" our happiness consists in quite a different matter. 
" For if, instead of being grave, and studious, and 
" laborious in our profession, we dissipate our- 
" selves in vanities, or sink into luxurious indo- 
" lence, the awe of our character, the influence of 
" our example, and the weight of our preaching, 
" will be lost. The thoughtless will imagine, that they 
" may safely step a little farther than we, and then 
" fall into palpable sin ; while the indifferent to reli- 
" gion and virtue will make it their boast, that we 
" aim to be as like them as for shame we can, and 
u will blaspheme, on that account, the worthy name 
u by which we are called." 

" Even talking with pleasure and delight of the 
* diversions and amusements of the world, discovers 



268 LECTURE XXVII. 

" a fondness for them more than is consistent with our 
" character and office. Having almost any know- 
" ledge of them, implies that we have studied, and 
" that we love them ; at least, it will be so constru- 
" ed by mankind, from whom we are not, in such 
" matters, to look for the most favourable construe- 
* tions. And yet the success of our ministry de- 
" pends on their thinking well of us, which they 
11 will be so far from doing on this account, that al- 
16 most all of them, however much addicted to 
" such amusements themselves, will be sure to cen- 
a sure us, if we follow them. Even those which are 
cc most reputable and lawful, may be far from expe. 
" dient for us, who ought to set our people a pattern 
<c of employing their precious time to higher and bet- 
<c ter purpose. A minister of God's Word, attentive 
" to his duty, will neither have leisure for such dissi - 
" pations, public or private, nor any liking to them. 
€i He will see that pleasure, or rather a wretched af- 
" fectation of it, is become the idol of mankind, to 
" which they are sacrificing their fortunes, their 
" health, their reputations, their regard to God, to 
" their social duties, to the state of their souls, to 
" their future being. Now, what are the clergy to 
" do in such a case ? If we but seem to go along 
" with them, who shall call them back ? For, as 
" to the pretence of keeping them within bounds, 
"it is visibly a mere pretence. Or, were it not, 
" the older and graver of us would surely think 
" such a superintendancy no very honourable one ; 
" and few of the younger and livelier could be safely 
" trusted with it. Indeed, we none of us know 
" what effect such evil communications would produce 
" on our manners and dispositions. With regard to 
*• others, however, I do not mean we should be sour 
S( or morose, or condemn those relaxations which 
«' they deem to be innocent. It is best to express our 



LECTURE XXVII, 269 

* e dislike of them as mildly as the case will bear ; 
" slight, with good humour, the indulgences in which 
u they place their happiness, and convince them, by 
tf our experience as well as reasoning, how very com- 
" fortably they might live without them*." 

A minister, endowed with the spirit of his office, 
considers his duty as his highest, and, indeed, his 
only pleasure. Habit, which is every thing, gives 
him that pleasure in duty, which others find in their 
sports and pastimes. Even the attending on the sick 
and dying, which, to an ungracious minister, is dis- 
agreeable and irksome, is more desirable to him than 
any scene of gaiety and amusement. He deems it 
better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of 
feasting, on account of the good he may receive, 
the good he may do, and the comfort he may give to 
a soul in trouble. To the house of mourning, there- 
fore, and to the bed of sickness, he repairs, as to 
scenes of spiritual pleasure, as well as to discharge 
his duty. And, while thus engaged, he misses not 
the pleasures of the world ; he misses not even the 
joys of heaven, if we may judge from the case of 
Fillan. Fillan, who ministered such consolation to 
the children of affliction, that he was called the 
healer of diseases, professed that no part of his mi- 
nistry was so agreeable to him, as to visit the afflicted. 
If the angel of distress, or death, knocked at any 
door within his district, the first that heard, and the 
next that knocked, was Fillan. At length the hour 
of his own departure came, and the convoy of angels 
received his spirit. Borne on their wings, he flew 
towards heaven, and saw the portals already open, 
when a ministering spirit passed them downward, on 
his way to visit a saint in prison. That is like enter- 
ing this paradise, said Fillan, looking wistfully after 
him, as if he envied him his errand. Angels almost 

* Archbishop Seeker's Charges. 



%¥Q LECTURE XXVII. 

blamed him for having said so ; but God immediate 
\y ordained him to be a minister of mercy. Go^ 
said he, and divert the storm that rages on the earth, 
lest that desart tract before it perish. To do thy 
will, in errands of mercy, is the essence of heaven to 
me, said Fillan, as he flew, with the speed of a sun- 
beam, to turn the course of the tempest. But hear- 
ing the moan of distress as he passed over a cottage, 
Fillan, as he was wont, would stop, though but a 
moment, to minister consolation to a soul, whose 
painful trial was about to cease for ever. In that mo- 
ment, by a sudden commotion of earth and ocean, the 
desart sunk and perished. Fillan blushed as he 
returned ; angels trembled for his fate ; and the first 
sons of light were afraid to look at the throne of God. 
But God remembered the habits of Fillan's life, and 
said, Blessed is the merciful! 

And blessed, my brethren, and happy should we 
be, in the exercise of our duty, did we thus love to 
discharge it, and consider every part of it, not as a 
task, but as an honour and a pleasure, then should 
we look for opportunities of usefulness, instead of 
amusement, and fill, alike with duty and with plea- 
sure, every day and hour of our fleeting life.* But, 
if any call this a hard saying, I say it only to those 
choice spirits who can bear it. To others I say, that 
relaxation, upon the whole, is allowed them ; yet 
not what the world falsely calls by that name ; not 
that relaxation which destroys the most valuable of 
our talents, time, without answering any useful pur- 
pose. For we are stewards, and, therefore, not our 

* " Live while you live, the epicure would say, 
" And snatch the pleasures of the presentday. 
" Live while you live, the sacred preacher cries, 
" And give to God each moment as it flies. 
" Lord! in my views let both united be, 
" I live to pleasure while I live to thee." Dodbridge. 



LE'CTURE XXVII.' 27F 

own; neither are our time and talents. Thesp are 
all of them the property of our Master, and should 
be devoted to his service, in the edification of our 
people. Our relaxation on this account, should be 
suited to our character as ministers of the gospel, and 
followers of Jesus. It should consist in the exer- 
cise of going about doing good ; and, sometimes, if 
it please us, in the culture of a spot of garden, or 
any such exercise, moderately taken, and, at the 
same time, grave, athletic, and unexceptionable. It 
should consist in the pursuit of other branches of 
useful science, that may be allied to our business,, in 
the small measure that matters of more importance 
will allow. It should, especially, consist in the edi- 
fying conversation and society of true christians. 
Such was the relaxation of Jesus himself, the great 
Pattern of our life and ministry ; and such must be 
ours, if we are his true disciples. To expect it from 
any thing else unconnected with our duty, is absurd. 
To seek it in the world, is dangerous. It is not 
there ; Why seek nice the: living among the dead ? 

'" Is the world, my brethren, a proper place of re- 
" creation to a minister of Jesus Christ ? How shall 
•' we sing a song in a strange land (said the Jewish 
" captives to the people of Babylon,) where the God 
" of our fathers is not known, where his friendship. 
" is despised, and his prophets without honour? And 
" would it be recreation to us, my brethren, to see 
* religion despised, our Saviour dishonoured, and 
" our brethren, for whom Christ died, perishing,. 
"" and squandering away thoughtlessly the few mo- 
" ments of grace allowed them by heaven for secur- 
" ing their salvation ? The world knew not Christ ; 
" the world hated his disciples ; and his disciples bid 
" his followers guard against the world. Paul bids 
ci us not to be conformed to it ; John bids us not to 
" love it. Job, Moses, David, Elijah, and others, of 
"whom the world was not worthy, were rieved in it, 



272 LECTU1LE XXVII 

« grew sick of it, and wished to leave it. And shall 
" we look for recreation where these holy men were 
" tired of life, and where all who live godly in Christ 
" J esus meet with much tribulation ? We may look 
" for it, but shall not find it." 

" The world, my brethren, is a place of snares 
" and dangers, where we run much risk of being 
" hurt or infected. While we are in it, we breathe 
" in tainted air ; and though we associate only with 
a the most regular, yet, when amusement, and not 
" duty, calls us, their maxims, by degrees, weaken 
i5 our sense of duty ; their false wisdom seduces, 
44 and their imperfect manners gain us.* Much 
" of our time is taken up in conversation, which is, 
" at best, but idle. Vain thoughts occupy our 
tC minds, and they recur upon our memories. We 
" insensibly conform to our company, and depart 
u from the sanctity which becomes our lives, and 
69 the gravity which becomes our character. When 
" duty calls us to mix with the world, then provi- 
" dence protects, as it did Peter, when his Master 
" called to him to tread the deep. Examine there- 
" fore, whenever you mix with the world, if duty 
" calls you ? if it is for the good of men, and the 
" glory of God ? Is it his work you are going to do? 
" Is it charity that brings you to comfort the afflict 
fi ed, to strengthen the weak ; to edify the saint, to 
" gain the sinner ? Or is it your zeal to follow in 
tC private the instructions you have been giving in 
" public ; to entertain by heavenly discourses ; or to 
" bring the peace of Christ to families ? Is it your 

* M Qui ambulat in sole coloratur, 

" Qui tangit picem inquinatur : { 

" Aerecalido calescimus, 

ft Et rursus frigido frigescimus. 

%f Tu cum Sanctis aanctus eris, 

" Cumperversisperverteris." 



LECTURE XXVIL 273 

a watchfulness to reprove, rebuke, exhort, encourage ? 
*' Look up, and you will find it was so with your 
" Master. If he manifested himself in a village of 
" Jewry, it was to do the work of his Father ; if 
u at a marriage, it was to show his power, and gain 
" authority to his doctrine ; if in the house of a publi- 
4t can, it was to save a child of Abraham ; if at Jerusa- 
u lem on the feast-day, it was to purge the temple.*" 
In a word, to glorify God, and to do good to souls, 
was his meat and his drink, his work and his recrea- 
tion. And the closer we follow his example, the 
greater shall be our happiness and usefulness here, 
and the greater shall be our glory and reward here- 
after. Those things, therefore, which we have both 
learned, and received, and heard of him, let us do, 
and the God of peace shall be with us. 

* See Massillon's Discourses to his Clergy. 



LI 



LECTURE XXVIII. 

Tliat Ministers ought rigidly to observe the laws re- 
specting Ordination and the Discipline of their Or- 
der. 

HAVING said so much of the duty of the clergy, 
towards the people, it may be proper to say a little 
of those studies which they ought to observe among 
themselves. These respect either the admission of 
members into their order, or the maintaining of 
discipline among them after they are admitted. 
These are matters of such vast importance, as to 
merit our attention in the highest degree. Accord- 
ingly, we find our Saviour spending a whole night 
in prayer, before he called or ordained his apostles ; 
and we find the apostles in like manner, praying 
for direction from heaven, when filling the place of 
Judas. We likewise find, that christians, in general, 
are more than once directed to pray to God, that he 
would send faithful labourers into his vineyard. 
Could any thing give us a higher idea of the great 
importance of the sacred office ? We cannot possibly 
use too much caution in the licensing or ordaining of 
those who are candidates. 

Of all the trusts which God hath put into our 
hands, my brethren, this is of the most importance, 
as it is the most extensive, in it's consequences, to 
mankind. The laws of our church, therefore, re- 
specting this matter, ought to be always observed 
with the most scrupulous rigour. No consideration 
whatever ought to prevail with us to depart from the 
least iota of these laws ; for that would be to preju- 
dice the cause of the gospel. Neither friendship 



LECTURE XXVIII. 27$ 

nor compassion, nor interest, nor importunity, should 
move us to bring any into the church, who is not 
(as we firmly believe in our conscience,) in every re- 
spect, duly qualified for it's service. Friendship for 
any man in this respect, is enmity to God ; compas- 
sion to an individual is cruelty, and the worst cruel- 
ty too, to the community ; and to be remiss or easy 
in admitting such as ought to have neither lot nor par 
in this matter, is to become partakers of other men's 
sins, and to be, in a great measure, answerable for 
the harm which they do to souls, the disgrace which 
they bring on their office, the hurt which they do to reli- 
gion, and the mischiefs which they bring on the church 
of God. Yes, my brethren, we keep the door of the 
sanctuary, and we must, therefore, answer to God 
and the souls of men, for such as we unwarrantably let 
in. On this account, the longer we know them, the 
more we examine into their views, their knowledge, 
parts, and character ; and the greater the variety of 
trials through which we make them pass, the more 
we secure our own peace of conscience, the dignity 
and character of the order, and the interest of God 
and religion in the world. 

We must be cautious of admitting any who have 
not devoted themselves early to the service of God, 
and to the study of the scriptures, and received such 
education as qualifies them for the ministry * that is, 
such education as qualifies thesm for being useful to 
souls, not only by the measure of their knowledge, 
but also by the practical power of their doctrine, and 
the commanding influence of an holy and exempla- 
ry conduct. We must examine if they have been re- 
marked for a strong early and persevering passion for 
study ; without which, no excellence in this office is 
ever to be expected or attained. We must observe, 
that they be not novices, but are come to the age 
in which their character may be supposed to be fully 



276 LECTURE XXVIII. 

formed, and their habits decidedly marked.* We 
must observe, that they be distinguished by their pru- 
dence, as well as by the sanctity of their manners, 
and that they evince a heart filled with love to God 
and to mankind. We must especially observe, that 
they be possessed of those qualifications which the 
word of God requires in such as would be teachers of 
the religion of Jesus ; that they be " blameless as the 
" stewards of God, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, 
*' and of good report ; not sell- willed, not soon an- 
" gry, not given to wine or strong drink ; no braw- 
" lersor strikers ; not given to filthy lucre ; but just, 
" holy, temperate, holding fast the faithful word, and 
a able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to con- 
u vince the gainsayers ; in all things showing them- 
" selves patterns of good works, and examples to the 
" believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in 
" spirit, in faith, in purity, in gravity, in sincerity ; 
" studious and laborious, not neglecting any gift that 
" is in them, but giving themselves wholly to their 
rt work, and taking heed to themselves and to their 
" doctrine, that they may save their own souls, and 
" those that hear them. They must be men of God, 
" following after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, 
" patience, meekness ; they must be lovers of good 
€i men, fleeing youthful lusts, avoiding foolish strifes 
a and debates ; gentle, patient, apt to teach ; in meek- 
" ness instructing those that oppose themselves ; and, 
" in a word, doing all the work of an evangelist, and 
" making full proof of their ministry /'t 

We must examine diligently, that candidates for 
the ministry be well acquainted with the sacred scrip- 
tures; that they be trained in them from their youth, 
and that they have committed the most useful and 

* The Levitieal law fixed this at thirty ; And,, at that age 
our Saviour begun his public ministry. 
f See the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. 



LECTURE XXV7.Il. 277 

practical parts of* them to memory, in order to be 
richly furnished for being able ministers of the New 
Testament. We must likewise examine, whether 
their education has been all along calculated more 
for solid utility than mere show and speculation *, 
and take care that their whole life, so far as it is pos- 
sible for us to know, exhibit the most striking ex- 
amples of piety and virtue. For no person who is 
not himself a model of piety and divine love, is 
qualified for being a public teacher of piety, or a 
guide to others in the way of salvation. How can 
he teach who has not learned ; how can he recom- 
mend virtue who loves vice ; or how can he lead 
others to heaven who w T alks himself another way ? 
If Plato would have none made heathen priests but 
such as were " descended of pious parents, and had 
" always the best education and example, and were 
" free both from every bodily imperfection and from 
" every moral stain offensive to God, and incompa- 
" tible with the sanctity of their character," shall we 
not hold the christian priesthood worthy of at least 
the same regard ? 

The stress which this philosopher places on the 
circumstance of priests being descended of pious pa- 
rents, is a matter highly deserving our attention. 
The' principle of imitation will naturally lead the 
children of such parents to copy their example, by 
which they have the vast benefit of acquiring those 
early habits of virtue which make the most lasting 
impression on the soul, and which probably give it 
much of it's colouring through time and through 
eternity. Independent, indeed, of this effect of ex- 
ample and imitation, it may be observed, that chil- 
dren often inherit a certain cast of mind, as well as 
of body, from their parents, so as to resemble them 
generally in the principal features of the one as well 
as of the other. Thus, solidity and sense is the cha- 
racteristic of one family ; levity and folly of another 
Thus, too, as some families are distinguished for 



278 LECTURE XXVlII. 

their mechanic, and some for their poetic, so others 
for their pious and virtuous turn of mind. It is, 
therefore, a very desirable circumstance, that candi- 
dates for the ministry should be descended of pious 
parents, as their original advantages, in this respect, 
give no inconsiderable security for their good beha- 
viour in the sacred office. 

After this diligent enquiry into the education, pie- 
ty, and knowledge (and, I would wish to add, with 
Plato, into the pious parentage also) of every candi- 
date, we ought also to enquire into his veiws, that 
the fault may not be ours, if these be wrong. He 
ought, therefore, " to be posed, upon his conscience, 
a before the great God, and that in the most solemn 
9i manner, to declare what moveth him to accept of 
u this office, and to take upon him the charge of the 
a ministry*." 

Nor is this all : We must take care, that candi- 
dates for the sacred office have a fund of good sense 
and parts, as well as knowledge, piety* and a good 
intention. A weak and well meaning man may fill 
any other office rather than this, which is the most 
important of all, and which requires more than an 
ordinary degree of perfection to discharge it proper- 
ly. The Levitical law excluded from the priesthood 
all such as were lame, maimed, or deformed in bo- 
dy ; and shall we admit into the christian, such as 
are deficient or lame in any endowment of the 
mindt ? If we do, how shall we answer it to our 
conscience ; how shall we answer it to our God ; 
how shall we answer k to the souls that perish 
through the misconduct, incapacity, or weakness, of 

* Act. Assemb. 1638. 

f " From such apostles, O ye mitred heads, 
€C Preserve the church ! and lay not careless hands 
" On skulls that cannot teach, and will not learn/' 

COWPER. 



LECTUftE XXVIH. 27§ 

those who should teach and guide them ? No, my 
brethren, let us not dare to entrust the flock of Christ 
to those whom we would scarce entrust with the keep- 
ing of our cattle, or with the management of our 
worldly affairs, if they required any considerable 
share of prudence and ability. Let us not deprive 
society of the service of such persons, in some lower 
department that may fit them ; nor let us injure 
souls, by putting them in the room that should be 
filled by able and useful pastors. 

But it is not only to the admission of members to 
the sacred office that we ought to attend. We must 
also watch over one another with a holy jealousy, 
after getting in, lest the enemy get advantage over 
us. We must lay aside that false delicacy and mis- 
taken tenderness, which would hinder us from ad- 
monishing a brother when he is in fault, and so pre- 
venting evils in the beginning, which the severest 
discipline may not afterwards amend. But then, 
amidst the calumnies of the world (of which the 
ministers of religion often get their share,) we should 
be careful not to blame a brother without sufficient 
reason ; nor, without necessity, tell other men what 
we are even then obliged to think of him. We 
should be ready to show all proper kindness to him, 
even when blameable, and to receive him with ten- 
derness, if, without obliging us to proceed to ex- 
tremity, he returns to duty. But, if brotherly ad- 
monition does not amend him, we must then, how- 
ever reluctantly, proceed, according to our laws, to 
the other steps of discipline; and, for the sake of 
preserving the health of the rest of the body, cut 
off, like wise physicians, the limb that cannot be 
healed. The interests of religion are never so mate- 
rially concerned as in the preserving of the purity 
of it's ministers. Lose this, and you lose your au- 
thority, influence and respect, and, of consequence, 
your usefulness in your Master's service. Lose thi.s ? 



28d LECTURE XXVII. 

and you lose your own souls, and destroy those of 
others. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance, 
that we execute, with impartiality, and even with 
rigour, the laws of discipline respecting our own or- 
der. Neither friendship, nor favour, nor pity, must, 
at any time, move us to wink at the faults of a bro- 
ther, or to screen him from thelash of discipline, when 
he deserves to feel it. In this respect, we must, 
with Levi, neither acknowledge our brethren, nor 
know our own children. Whatever relation or regard 
we bear to them, that which we bear to God and our 
own souls is stronger. " I have a regard for Socrates," 
said the philosopher, " and I have a regard for Plato ; 
"but I have a still greater regard for truth and 
duty. 5 ' 

We must, therefore, I say, my brethren, watch 
over one another continually, with a holy jealousy ; 
and, when we cannot prevent faults, endeavour, by 
a strict and impartial exercise of discipline, to cor- 
rect the offender ; and, if we cannot amend him, at 
least remove him from his office. We must do all 
in our power to provoke one another to love and to 
good works, and to be as useful as we can in the 
church of God. We must frequently converse and 
consult with one another about the means of pro- 
moting knowledge and piety ; remembering, that on 
our diligence in this work, under God, depends the 
salvation of thousands still living in ignorance under 
our pastoral charge. Nay, further, on our diligence, 
in this work, depends our salvation also. It 
should, therefore, occupy our thoughts when alone 
and should, when we meet, be the great subject of 
our conversation. 

We must do all that lieth in us to strengthen 
each other's hands, and to maintain, among our- 
selves, peace, love, and unanimity. Like the bun* 
die of rods in the fable, our strength is great only 
when we are united. Intent with all our heart and 



LECTURE XXVIII. 281 

soul upon our Master's work, our common business, 
let us consider every other thing as of little moment, 
and totally unworthy of our serious concern; so 
shall we have little occasion to differ much in opi- 
nion. Or if, at any time, we should differ in opinion 
about trifles (and about trifles it is that we almost 
always do so # ), let us never do it but in meekness 
and love ; leaving all intemperate heat and animosity 
to those who serve another master. Let our modera- 
tion be known to all men ; for the wrath of man, we 
know, worketh not the righteousness of God. Let us 
remember, that we, who endeavour to compose and 
remove the differences of others, ought, if possible, 
to have none of our own. 

But, (I say it again, my brethren) if disputes 
should at any time unhappily arise, let us never pur- 
sue them keenly, nor maintain them long. Let us, 
if possible, love and respect those from whom we 
think ourselves obliged to differ, and do them the 
justice, which we expect from them, to believe that 
they act from conscience, as we do ourselves. Let 
us judge of whatever they say or do with charity. 
Let us judge of the matter in dispute with modesty; 
for it is possible we are not qualified to judge of it at 
all And, whatever be our opinion, let us act in 
such a manner, as may secure to us the approba- 
tion of God, and the esteem of all good men. Any 
thing different from this meekness of wisdom, would 
hurt our character, hurt our cause, and hurt religion 
It would give the world occasion to believe, that 

* Arist. " But amidst our ecclesiastical feuds, with what 
{t party will you side ? 

Theot, " With none. Virtue never occasions any dispute, 
«• because it comes from God : All these heart-burnings are 
" about opinions which are the inventions of men. 
Arist. " Excellent ! I wish all priests were like you/' 

Vol. Diet. Phil 
M m 



282 lecture xxvrn, 

whatever we profess, we are not indeed the disci- 
ples of him, who is the Prince of peace , and who 
required of all his disciples, to have peace among 
themselves*. 

* Mark, ix, 50. , 



LECTURE XXIX. 

Address to Candidates for the Ministry. 

" HE who intends to dedicate himself to the sacred 
" office, ought early to devote himself to the strict- 
& est piety and virtue, that he may not be vitiated 
" by any ill habit, which it may not afterwards be 
" easy for him to lay aside. He ought, above all 
" things, to possess himself with a high sense of the 
i: christian religion, of it's truth and excellency, of 
a the value of souls, of the dignity of the pastoral 
" care, of the honour of God, of the sacredness of 
16 holy functions, and of the great trust that is com- 
a mitted to those who are set apart from the world, 
" and dedicated to God and to his church. He 
" who looks this way, must mortify himself to the 
" appetites of pleasure, and wealth, and honour, and 
" power. He must consider, that the relation in 
u which he intends to officiate, calls every one who 
" enters upon it to the greatest holiness s»nd virtue ; 
" to a purity and innocency of manners, to a meek- 
" ness and gentleness, to a humility and sdf-de^tl, 
" to a contempt of the w r orld, and a heavenly-mi nd- 
" edness, to a patient resignation to the will of God, 
" and a readiness to bear the cross, and follow his 
6i Master, through good report and bad report, in 
" hopes of that everlasting reward which awaits him 
" in another world*." And when you, my young 
brethren, are about to consecrate yourselves to this 
important w T ork, I hope you have examined before 
God, whether you have these dispositions; or, in 

* Burnet's Pastoral Care. 



284 LECTURE XXIX. 

other words, whether he hath called you to his ser- 
vice. I hope you can say in truth, that you " trust 
" you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost, to 
" take upon you this office, to serve God for the 
" promoting of his glory, and the edifying of his 
" people*. " You will not, I trust, give God cause 
to complain of you, as he did of some of the false 
prophets of old, / have not sent them, and yet they 
run. This would be a crime of such enormity as 
you would not choose, I am persuaded, to be guilty 
of. For, " if a man pretend a commission from a 
" prince, or indeed from any person, and, in conse- 
61 quence of it, acts in his name, the law will punish 
" him ; and shall the great God of heaven and earth 
" be thus vouched, and his having moved them be 
" pretended by those whom he has neither called nor 
" sent ? Or, shall he not reckon with those who dare 
6 run without his mission, pretending that they have 
" it, when they never perhaps examined into it's im- 
" portance, nor startled at the thoughts of becoming 
" sacrilegious profaners of the name of God, and of 
" his Holy Spiritt J" 

But of you, my young brethren, I hope better 
things. Human motives, I hope, are not those 
which influence you in your choice. The glory of 
God, and the salvation of souls, I trust, are the 
great end and aim you have in view. Gladly, then, 
will I address each of you, as Laban did Eliezer, 
Come m, thou blessed of the Lord, why standest thou 
without ? It is of such labourers that the Lord hath 
need in his vineyard, and, on the prospect of having 
such for our fellow-labourers, we exceedingly re- 
joice. 

But, on the other hand, if you have not examined 
yourselves, and found that you have a single eye to 
the glory of God, enter not the sacred place in which 

* Eng. Liturgy. t Past. Care. 



LECTURE XXIX. 285 

his honour dwells. Keep back, lest he ask you, What 
have you to do to declare my statutes, or to take my 
covenant into your mouth ? If it is from selfish and 
worldly motives that you thrust yourselves into the sa- 
cred office, you are not the servants of Christ, but the 
slaves of your own corrupt passions, the slaves of the 
very worst ambition. All your concern is to get a 
tolerable maintenance, a comfortable subsistence in 
the world. Like the unjust steward, you are perhaps 
unwilling to dig, and to beg you are ashamed ; there- 
fore you turn your thoughts to this, as a very conve- 
nient employment. So it was in the degenerate 
times of the church of old. Men would crouch for a 
piece of silver, and say, Put me, I pray thee, in the 
priesfs office, that I may eat a piece of bread. Hence 
the grievous complaint, that the priests taught for hire, 
and the prophets divined for money. 

It is true, God hath ordained, that they who preach 
the gospel should live by the gospel, and have a suffi- 
cient maintenance provided for them ; and the in- 
justice of withholding this from them, may be one of 
the most crying sins of the times.* Although this be 
their right, it should not be their motive. t When it 
is, it soon leads to avarice, and to an inordinate love 
of the world ; the most sordid passion to which hu- 
man nature ever stoops. In scripture, we find pious 
and regenerate persons fallen into many sins, but, as 
it has been often observed, none of them into this. 
This is a spot never to be found in God's children ; 
and proves more fatal than leprosy or plague, to 

* Mai. iii. 8—10. 
f The late Dr. Johnson, when in indigent circumstances, 
was offered a rectory if he would enter into orders. But this 
great and good man, sensible, as it is supposed., of the asperi- 
ty of his temper, declined it ; saying, *■ I have not the requi* 
sites for the office, and I cannot in my conscience shear the 
flock which I am unable to feed." 



286 LECTURE XXIX. 

those infected with it's poison. The sin which carried 
Judas to his own place, was avarice. The sin which 
made Demas forsake the church was avarice. The sin 
most directly opposite to that largeness of soul and 
generosity of sentiment, which the gospel inspires, is 
avarice. What a contradiction, then, must it be in a 
minister of the gospel ? What a debasement of his 
character to yield to it? It is as if a king should de- 
scend from his throne to sit on the dunghill. Besides, 
this is a sin which is seldom found alone. Whoever 
is capable of it, is capable of any evil.* It renders a 
minister, especially, indifferent to the salvation or dam 
nation of the souls of whom he has the charge. He is 
occupied only about the sordid and temporal profits to 
be derived from his office, instead of using that evan- 
gelical earnestness, which almost borders on compul- 
sion, to make people leave their farms, and their oxen, 
and accept of the gospel invitation ; he forgets that he 
was sent out on this errand, and minds his farm, and 
his oxen himself, as much as they do. And if the 
king resented so highly, that the persons who were 
bidden made light of his invitation, with how much 
greater severity will he treat that servant, who, ne- 
glecting his business, and betraying his trust, joins in 
their madness, and remains along with them ! If they 
are treated as ingrates, he must be treated as a rebel. 
He goes forth to war against the world ; and with the 
world he joins in league against his master. 

When a minister coldly commends the things that 
are heavenly, and warmly pursues the things that are 
earthly, who can believe him to be in earnest ? Who 
will not rather consider him as a mere player, 
Who acts upon the stage an hour or two 
In an unreal character ; and then 
Throws off the mask, and reassumes his own ? 

* Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, 
Auri sacra fames ! 



LECTURE XKfX. §87 

How can this man's labours in the ministry be other- 
wise than lost ? but his having lost his labour, and 
his having passed his life without ever gaining one 
soul to Christ, is not what affects him. This, without 
any complaint, he can bear with perfect patience. But 
what he laments is, that his function brought him no 
more of that filthy lucre, for which he served. Hence 
the source of all his grief ; here the balance in which 
all his losses are weighed. 

What then shall we say to these things ? If Jesus 
drove the traffickers out of the temple, how will he 
permit such a wretch as this to enter into it ? He 
may permit it (for he acts sometimes in the way of 
judgment as well as mercy,) but permit it with im- 
punity he will not. He is a jealous God, and will ne- 
ver suffer any one to enter his temple, in order to bow 
down to an idol. This, in any man, would be the 
most heinous profanity ; but, in a minister, the most 
horrid impiety. It would be a bold defiance to the 
Deity, and, as it were, an open challenge to grasp his 
thunder. Why should you then, my young friends, 
allow yourselves to be thus impelled to your destruc- 
tion by worldly motives ? What shall you be profit- 
ed, if you gain the whole world (of which, by the way, 
you can gain but very little) and lose your ownsoidsf 
Lose your own souls ! Yes, most infallibly. And 
what is there in the world, that should tempt you to 
run this dreadful hazard ? " The world, believe it, 
" the world has nothing solid, nothing durable. It is 
" only a fashion, and a fashion, too, that passeth 
" away. Yes, sirs, the tenderest friendships end. — 
" Honours are specious titles, which time effaces. 
" Pleasures are amusements, which leave only a last- 
" ing and painful repentance. Riches are torn from 
'■ us by the violence of men, or elude us by their own 
" instability. Grandeurs moulder away of themselves. 
" Glory and renown at length lose themselves in the 
" abysses of an eternal oblivion. So rolls the torrent 



288 I,ECTURE XXIX. 

" of this world, whatever pains are taken to stop it, 
" Every thing is carried away by a rapid train of pas- 
;< sing moments ; and by continual revolutions we 
a arrive, frequently, without thinking of it, at that 
" fatal point, where time finishes, and eternity begins ! 
" Happy then the christian soul, who, obeying the 
" precept of Jesus Christ, loves not the world, nor 
" any thing that the world contains."* 

But possibly, my young brethren, you may not 
look forward to this office from gainful motives, and 
yet your views may still be wrong. You may per- 
haps consider the temple of God as a place of re- 
pose, where you may loll your life away in ease and 
indolence. t Ah ! my young brethren, how grossly 
are you mistaken ! How little do you know of the 
many cares, fatigues, and perplexities, which attend 
the sacred function ! These are so many, that under 
the weight of them (to use the words of one of the 
fathers) " the shoulders of angels themselves might 
" groan." 

Ministers are in scripture designated by the names 
pf rulers, teachers, stewards, shepherds, servants, 
watchmen, labourers, soldiers, and the like, all of 
them expressive of both great trust and great toil. 
Whoever would exercise any one of them aright, must 
have many wearisome days, and restless nights ; much 
fatigue of body, and anxiety of mind. But when 

* Archbishop Flechier. 

f Erasmus laments, that in his time (and I fear it is so in 
ours) many young preachers greatly mistook the nature of 
their calling in this and other respects. s Verum ad concio- 

* nes sacras admittuntur, interdum etiam assiliunt adolescen. 

* tes,leves, indocti, quasi nihil sit faciliusquam apud populum 
f exponere divinam scripturam, et abunde sufficiat perfricuis- 

* se faciem, et absterso pudorelinguem volvere. Hoc malum 

* ex eo fonte manat, quod non perpenditur quid sit ecclesias- 
' tici concionatoris turn dignitas, turn difficultas, turn utilita* 



LECTURE XXIX. £89 

they must all unite in one character, 'who, O God- 
is sufficient for these things! 

Our office is an office of labour. In it, the wicked 
and slothful servant are but one and the same cha- 
racter. In it, an idle hour must therefore be always 
set down as a guilty one ; and every moment must be 
occupied, or God, conscience, and perishing souls 
may upbraid us ; as the moments which we waste in 
trifles, and the breath which we spend in talk, might, 
if applied properly, be the means of saving souls. 
Our office is an office of labour. It obliges us to car- 
ry our children in our bosom, as a nurse her child ; 
to suffer the murmurings and ingratitudes without 
abandoning them ; to aim at uniting in duty and ob- 
servance of the law, all the different humours and in- 
clinations of which they are made up ; and to double 
our diligence, in proportion as they study to render 
our diligence useless. Our office is a station of emi- 
nence, where it is difficult to stand, and unspeakably 
dangerous to fall. It is, besides, an uncommodious 
elevation, which exposes to the observation of the 
public, and renders many things, in themselves lawful? 
to us not expedient; on account of the weakness of our 
brethren. And as we must often reprehend vice, we 
are often exposed to the hatred of those whom we ar- 
dently wish to save. 

Our office is a dangerous charge, which renders 
us responsible to God for a vast number of souls, 
whose salvation or ruin must be in a great measure 
owing to us ; so that we must be, in some degree, an- 
swerable for the sins of others as well as for our own. 
Our office is an awful dispensation, which commits 
to us the mysteries of God, and the fruits of the 
death of Christ ; so that the least unfaithfulness be- 
comes an abuse of his blood, and renders the inesti- 
mable benefits of his cross of non effect. It is a post 
of vigilance, which obligeth us to bear the spiritual 
armour of our sacred warfare always in our hands,,- 

N n 



290 LECTURE XXIX. 

to combat against flesh and blood, and spiritual wick* 
ednesses in high places, and against the corruptions of 
the age in which w T e live. Otherwise, the crimes 
which we tolerate become our own, and public vices, 
whatever may be our personal innocence, become our 
particular faults. " The labours of a minister (says 
ki Luther,) exhaust the very marrow from the bones, 
" and hasten forward old age and death."* These 
labours are fitly compared to the toil of men in har- 
vest, to the labours of a woman in travail, and to the 
agonies or last efforts of soldiers in the extremity of 
battle. We must watch, when others sleep ; we must 
study to paleness ; we must preach to faintness. In- 
stant in season and out of season, we must instruct 
the ignorant, reprove the wicked, exhort the negligent, 
alarm the presumptuous, strengthen the weak, visit 
the sick, comfort the afflicted, reclaim the wandering, 
and confirm the faithful. Is there on earth an office 
of greater labour ; a situation less easy, or more dan- 
gerous than ours ? Is there in the world a greater mis- 
take, than to seek for rest here, where least of all it is 
to be found ? 

But, although you may not be moved by the hopes 
of gain or ease, yet still you may be incited by the 
prospect of honour. The reverence or respect an- 
nexed to the sacred office, when properly discharged, 
may perhaps allure you. If this be the motive of 
any of you, my brethren, it is, I fear, worse than 
any of those already mentioned. No Scylla or Cha- 
rybdis ever feigned by the poets, could be more fa- 
tal to you than this rock, on which so many before 
you have made shipwrecks Nay, Satan himself could 

* " Labores Ecelesiastici exhauriunt ab imis medulJis, se- 
" nium mortemque accelerant." 

f Teterrimus ille vanse glorias spiritus longe infestior illo 
Sirenum portento quod poetce confingunt. Vid. Chbysost. 
de Saccrd. 



LECTURE XXIX. 291 

"not have contrived a more effectual way to ruin }^ou 
than this ; for it is to set up yourself instead of Christ, 
it is to preach yourself instead of him. And what 
can be more provoking to the dread majesty of hea- 
ven and earth, than to see a worm claim a preference 
to him, and his servant challenge more regard to him- 
self, than to his Maker and Master ? The language 
of your selfish soul is not, " What shall 1 say, 
" or how shall I say it, so as to please and glorify 
" God, and do most good to the souls of men P* 
but, " What shall I say, and how shall I deliver it, 
" so as to be thought an excellent preacher, and to 
" be admired and applauded by all who hear me?" 
Admiration and applause you may perhaps ob- 
tain, for these are crumbs which the master of the 
family sometimes throws to the most worthless ani- 
mals in his house, for whom he hath nothing greater 
in reserve. But then, when you have these, verily, 
I say unto you, you have your reward. And a poor 
reward it is, of which the Spanish poet, Lope de Vega y 
has given us the real estimate. To this man, Fame 
had assigned one of the highest seats in her temple. 
No person of eminence visited Spain without seeking 
his personal acquaintance. Men yielded him pre- 
cedence when they met him in the streets, and wo- 
men saluted him with benedictions when he passed 
beneath their windows. During a long life, all 
ranks seem to have united in honouring, and almost 
idolizing him. But, of all these honours, hear his 
own sentiment, as he was about to leave them. — 
True honour," said he, " consists in doing and be- 
ing good ; and all the applauses which 1 ever re- 
w ceived, I would willingly exchange for the addL 
" tion of a single deed of virtue to the actions of my 
" life." 

* See Bostwick's Serm, on the Influence of a selfish Spirit 
upon Preaching. 



a 



29% LECTURE XXIX. 

How poor, then, is the applause which may fall 
to the vain and selfish, compared to the solid and 
lasting reward of the useful and faithful minister of 
Jesus ! And, if the first be yours, my brethren, in 
the latter you can never have any share. For you 
will never be honoured as the instruments of saving 
souls. Or if, by an uncommon miracle, and the 
extraordinary grace of God, you should, yet be as- 
sured, that, after having thus preached the gospel to 
others, you yourselves must be cast away. Many 
of those servants whom the King of heaven hath 
sent out to invite his guests, although they may have 
had some success in their message, will not have the 
honour of sitting down with him at his table ; yet 
he will gird himself, and, as it were, condescend to 
serve such of them as were most zealous and faith- 
ful, whose sole aim was to promote his glory, and 
bring souls to heaven. 

In subordination, however, to this honour, which 
comes from God, I would not have you to be al- 
together indifferent to that which comes from men, 
especially from the wise and good. To the man 
who combines great virtue with great knowledge, 
and who employs both in promoting the temporal 
and eternal interests of mankind, the veneration of 
mankind is due; and, to make altogether light of 
it, is rather a sign of pride than of humility. But, 
if this honour is not altogether to be despised, it is 
still less to be courted, and, least of all, to be aimed 
at. We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the 
Lord. And, if we preach him as we ought, our dis- 
courses will rather be felt by the heart, than praised 
by the tongue. That they should be followed by 
both these effects, was thought so unlikely by one 
of the fathers, that he wept when his hearers praised 
his sermon ; for then he thought he had missed his 
purpose. 



LECTURE XXIX. 293 

Besides examining thus into the purity of your in- 
tentions, you must observe, that your morals be also 
pure. Read, read often and carefully, the epistles 
of Paul to Timothy and Titus. These, as St. Au- 
gu stin says, ought to lie for ever before the eyes of 
all persons set apart for the holy ministry. In these 
you see what an unblemished character is required 
of such a minister in holy things. And, without 
such a character, you must not presume to enter the 
holy of holies, lest the invisible hand of that God, 
who guards his own sanctuary, thrust you back 
as a bold intruder, and a profaner of his holy place 
and name. The man who appeared at the gospel 
supper in an ordinary robe, without the wedding 
garment, is rejected, although called ; and will you, 
in a robe only ordinary, appear where you are to 
preside, to distribute, and to consecrate ? If God re- 
quired, that even his sacrifices should be without 
blemish, how can he bear that the priest himself 
should be impure ? Can you, uncalled of God, thrust 
yourself forward, without the necessary qualifica- 
tion which w T e speak of, to that altar which even 
angels may approach with fear ? Can you, being 
dead yourself, become the minister of life to others ? 
Can you inspire them with a love to that piety to 
which your own soul is a stranger ? No ; the man 
that shall ascend to the hill of God, or dwell within his 
holy place, must have a pure heart, and clean hands. 
Like the brightness of Goshen amidst the obscurity 
of Egypt, his example and conversation must be 
a burning and shining light amidst the ignorance 
and darkness of the world. He must have a more 
than ordinary piety, and, with all that, a lively and 
deep sense of his own unworthiness impressed upon 
his soul. He must have that soft and gentle, that 
meek and humble, that charitable and compassion- 
ate temper, which Jesus requires more peculiarly of 
his ministers, and of which he himself was so bright 



^94 Lecture xxix. 

a pattern. He must be willing, that all he is, and 
all he has, should be spent, and, as it were, ab- 
sorbed in the service of God. For, the glory of 
God, in the salvation of souls, is the end in which 
all his prayers, desires, studies, labours, living and 
dying, ought to centre. And, if he may only pro- 
mote this, he obtains his highest wish, his joy is 
fulfilled. For, his heart's desire is to sacrifice him- 
self, his means, his health, his life, to Christ ; beg- 
ging of him to dispose absolutely of them all, for 
the advancement of his glory, in the salvation of 
his people. And if such, my young brethren, are 
not your morals, if such are not your sentiments 
and dispositions, you ought to have neither lot nor 
part m this matter. 

You must further examine, if you have talents 
suited to the sacred office to which 3^011 aspire. Mo- 
ses himself, however well qualified by all lire learn- 
ing and wisdom, was afraid to enter on the embas- 
sy to which God called him, because he was sloiv of 
speech. Men rush not on ordinary employments in 
kfe, without talents suited to these employments, 
And will you, without the proper qualifications, ven- 
ture upon the most august and important office un- 
der heaven ? " Were I desired," says Chrysostom*, 
4< to pilot a ship, with the most valuable cargo, 
* through the tempestuous iEgean sea, I would 
a resile with terror from the dangerous office to 
" which I was not equal." But how much more 
dangerous and important is the task of guiding 
souls to happiness ? And how rash and mad must he 
be, who will undertake it without the proper qua- 
lifications? How many souls must he involve, to- 
gether with his own, in one general ruin ! 

Besides talents, you must have an insatiable pas- 
sion for study and improvement, without which the 

* Dc Sacerd. 



LECTURE XXIX. 205 

brightest talents will soon contract a rust, and be- 
come, in a great measure, useless to the world, and 
to their owner. He, therefore, who neglects to cul- 
tivate his talent, acts the same part with him in the 
gospel, who hid it in a napkin, and may one day 
expect to share in his fate. But of this subject I 
have spoken already, and need not here enlarge. 
Let me rather call upon you, my young brethren,, 
to examine, in the presence of the great Searcher 
of hearts, whether your views be upright, your mo 
rals pure, your talents good, and your application- 
to study unwearied and unremitting. Examine, 
whether you have that knowledge, zeal, piety* 
meekness, love, and other qualifications mentioned,. 
as belonging to the sacred character. If you have, we 
rejoice to give you the right hand of fellowship. And, 
when God thinks fit to call us away, we shall, with 
the greatest pleasure, resign our Kfe, and resign our 
charge, when we have the view of being more worthi- 
ly succeeded. 

But, if you have not these qualifications, we 
tremble for the church, we tremble for the souk of 
whom you take the charge, but, most of all, we 
tremble for yourselves, when we see you come for* 
ward, with unhallowed hands, to touch the ark. 
Any pretence of a call to the sacred office, without 
the qualifications, is false. Without these you must 
not, therefore, rush upon an office with which God 
hath not honoured even angels. And, to thrusfc 
yourselves forward in the place of Christ, as his 
ambassadors, and to handle his ordinances, uncom- 
missioned, uncalled, unqualified ; heavens ! what 
treasures of wrath must you heap on yourselves if 
you do it. You may perhaps think, that a call or 
commission from men may bear you out. Ah ! no ; 
their licence is but a permission to rush on to your 
own perdition ; their imposition of hands is but the 
giving you over, as a devoted victim, to the wrath 



296 LECTURE XXIX. 

of heaven. It is but loading your head, like that of 
the scape-goat of old (if I may use so sacred a type 
for a comparison), not with your own sins, but with 
the sins of your people. Wherefore, my young 
brethren, I beseech you, let no vain imagination of 
profit, honour, or ease, impel you blindly on to this 
important office, where the things which you seek can 
never be found by you, or found only with damna- 
tion involved in their bosom, as thunderbolts in 
clouds, whose skirts at a distance may seem to be 
fair. Yes, my brethren, if higher views do not at- 
tract you, soon will you find, that you are but 
scrambling up the face of a precipice, where the dan- 
ger of tumbling down increases every step as you 
go forward. And should you reach the height to 
which you aspire, you will by no means find there 
the ease and comfort which you expected. You 
will stand trembling on the dangerous eminence, and 
wish you had still remained in the safe, but humble 
valley, from which you departed. Nor shall you 
stand long, when the last awful messenger, commis- 
sioned by God, shall toss you headlong down, and 
the divine wrath pursue you to the lowest hell. For 
it may be justly inferred, that no man can have a 
larger share in the miseries of another life, than a 
wicked minister. 

But you will, perhaps, tell me, that you will re^ 
form, and acquire, in the exercise of the sacred of- 
fice, those dispositions which you did not bring to it. 
I answer, Never, without a miracle, upon which 
you, of all men, have the least title to presume. 
For he who enters upon the ministry without piety, 
is much more likely to arrive soon at profanity. 
" He contracts a callousness by his insensible way of 
" handling divine matters, by which he becomes har- 
ci dened against them, and by which he is so far put 
" out of the reach of conviction, in all the ordina- 
a ry methods of grace, that it is scarce possible he* 



LECTURE XXIX. 297 

* can ever be awakened, and, by consequence, that 
ie he can be saved. And if he perishes, he must fall 
u into the lowest degree of misery, even to the por- 
" tion of hypocrites ; for his whole life is a course of 
" hypocrisy, in the strictest sense of the word, which 
" is acting a part, and the counterfeiting another per- 
u son. His sins have in them all possible aggrava- 

* tion ; they are against knowledge, and against vows, 
£i and contrary to his character ; they carry in them 
" a deliberate contempt of all the truths and obliga- 
u tions of religion , and, if he perishes, he doth not 
u perish alone ; but he carries a shoal down with 
" him, either of those who have perished in igno- 
" ranee through his neglect, or of those who have 
" been hardened in sin through his ill example."* 

I repeat it, my brethren, he who enters on this 
office with wrong views and dispositions, commits 
an error in the foundation, which, instead of mend- 
ing, becomes the more dangerous as the building 
advances. Such a person is the object of God's 
wrath ; and the Holy Spirit, the only sanctifier, 
will not vouchsafe to dwell with him. The very or- 
dinances, of which he is the dispenser, will serve 
only to harden him. Every time he administers 
them, he commits a new crime. He was born in 
sin, he lives in guilt, he dies in impenitence. He 
sinks under the guilt of usurpation and profanation 
together. His disease is incurable as the wound of 
Samaria. 

You see, then, my young brethren, how you ought 
to conceive of this august office, on which you are 
about to enter. You see the views, the morals, and 
the talents which you ought to have, if you would 
handle the mysteries of God, and stand at his holy 
altar. Examine, therefore, if you are possessed of 
these, and use every mean to ripen, strengthen, and 

* Massilou. 

O o 



298 LECTURE XXIX. 

perfect them. Keep always the end of the sacred 
office in view ; and, in your conduct, conversation, 
and company, show that you are separated from the 
world, devoted to God, and probationers for the 
ministry. Be guarded in the choice of } 7 our compa- 
ny, be circumspect in your conduct, and let your 
conversation be grave, cheerful, and modest. Avoid 
alike flattery and slander, words that are idle, as 
well as those that are hurtful ; and consider your- 
selves, each as an apostle, whose speech should al- 
ways tend to edify. Be not conformed to the world, 
nor to it's vain customs, nor follow the maxims and 
manners of worldly men. For this purpose, keep 
always in your eye the example of your Master, and 
the precepts of the gospel, and consider what holi- 
ness of life, and purity of heart, they require in the 
sacred character with which you are about to be 
invested. In this straight line hold on immovably, 
without turning to the right or to the left, though 
men should say you are stiff and formal. Never af- 
fect to please in any thing foreign to your character ; 
for, if you have social and convivial talents, you 
may therefore fall into a snare. Neither are you to 
put on the affectation of extraordinary sanctity ; for 
cant and grimace are both suspicious and disgusting. 
You may be holy, without coveting too much to be 
thought so. It is best, with the simplicity of children r 
to appear always the very thing you are, without ma- 
king any show of being better, which would make 
you suspected of being worse. If you are sometimes 
in company, be still oftener in retirement, and prac- 
tise self-denial in all it's parts, even to severity. Re- 
member, that even what is lawful may be far from ex- 
pedient. How oft has this been verified by the impru- 
dence of forming too early the innocent connections 
with the other sex ; an error the more dangerous, 
that it is beyond the reach of cure from repentance. 
In this respect, then, keep your hearts with all dili- 



LECTURE XXIXc 209 

gence ; or, in other words, keep your distance. " The 
"heart of a young man beside a young woman," 
says an Eastern poet, " is like butter before the fire ; 
•' it will melt if you do not keep at a distance." Be, 
therefore, wise as serpents, while you are innocent as 
doves. Above all things, be much in prayer, much 
in meditation,* much in study. In regard to the 
plan of study which you ought to follow, or the 
books you ought to read in every science, particu- 
larly your own, it is difficult to give you any gene- 
ral rules, the tastes and capacities, and circumstances, 
and situations of men being so various ; and new 
books, like new generations of men, daily pushing the 
old off the stage, and occupying their place. It is beot 
to leave you to some pious, prudent, and learned 
friend ; only recommending to you to avoid all idle 
and profane books, and, above all things, to read and 
search the scriptures. He is always the best divine 
who is best acquainted with the scriptures. t Be, 
therefore, always conversant with them, and set your 
hearts betimes on acquiring and excelling in all those 
dispositions and qualifications which we have shown 
to be essential to the sacred character. May these 
be in you and abound ! May the Lord of the har- 
vest pave the way for your entering into his vine- 
yard ; and, when you shall have come in, may he 
bless your labours with abundant success ! In the 
mean time, may we, who are already engaged in the 
sacred office, always maintain the like thoughts of 
it's nature and importance. We are the servants of 
God, the ambassadors of Christ, and the ministers of 
his love to mankind. Let us imitate his example in 
meekness, tenderness, heavenly-mindednes, piety and 
zeal. His zeal is great for us ; let ours be so for him. 

* Tria faciunt thcologum, precatio, meditatio, tentatio. 

Luther. 
f Bonus textuarius, bonus theologus. — Luther. 



300 LECTURE XXIX. 

Let us leave to the dead the burying of their df ad- 
Let us leave to the world it's cares and contentions 
about things of little moment. We are called to a 
higher warfare ; to advance the kingdom of Christ, 
to gain souls, to saVe ourselves. With indefatigable 
zeal and patience, let us try every way to execute 
our commission. Let us have bowels of pity for sin- 
ners, who are nodding on the edge of a tremendous 
precipice, on the brink of a flaming tophet. Our 
glorious opportunities are hastening to a close. A 
few more days, and we must be no longer stewards. 
Life, like a rapid stream, is passing by. Death, on his 
pale horse, approaches ; and behind him follow hea- 
ven and hell, those glorious and dreadful realities, 
to one or other of which every soul that leaves this 
world is eternally assigned. Let us then, for the 
love of God, in the name and bowels of Jesus, and 
in compassion to immortal souls of which we have 
the charge, be zealous and diligent in our labours, 
that we may be able to give our account with joy, 
and not with grief. Let our diligence increase in pro- 
portion as we approach the goal, and often reflect on 
the hastening moment that shall end our warfare. 
Let us sow the seed, let us plant, let us water.—- 
And, though we may not always see a ready and vi- 
sible success, yet he who giveth the increase, know- 
eth in what time it is fittest to do it ; perhaps when our 
eye can no longer behold it. The seed grew, saith 
our Saviour, while the husbandmen slept. We would 
wish to see the immediate fruit of our labour ; but 
God doth not always permit this, lest we should as- 
cribe to ourselves the effects of his grace, and the 
work of his spirit. His will be done. Only let us 
be diligent, and leave our portion of the vineyard 
more improved to other labourers, who will very soon 
succeed us. Then, although one sow and another 
reap, we shall rejoice together in the day of harvest. 
Amen, 



CONTENTS 



Page 
Lecture I. Introduction. — Of the Nature and End of the 
Sacred Office, and the Qualifications ac- 
cessary for the Discharge of it* 1 
II. That a Minister of the Gospel should b©a 

Man of Prudence, f 

III. That he should be a Man of Knowledge, \Z 

IV. That he should be a Man of Piety, %$ 
V. That he should be a Man of Prayer, 31 

VI. That he should be a Man of Self-Denial, 4T 
VII. That he should be aMan of Heaven2y-MInd- 

edness, 55 

VIII. That he should be a Man of Heayenly Con- 
versation, §5 
IX. That he should be a Man of a Holy and Ex- 
emplary Life, 7S 

X. That he should be a Man of Meekness and 

Lowliness of Mind, 89 

XI. The same Subject continued, 101 
XII. That he should be a Man of Zeal and Dili- 
gence, 109 

* XIII. The same Subject continued, 124 

XIV, That he should be a Man of intense Lore to 

his People, 131 

XV. That he should be a Man of Sympathy and 

Sensibility of Soul, 139 

XVI. That he should be a Man of Faithfulness in 

Declaring the whole Counsel of God, 149 

XVII. The same Subject continued, 157 

XVIII. That he should be attentive to Clearness of 

Method and Plainness of Stile, 1 73 



CONTENTS, 



Page 



Le c . XIX. Th at he should be attentive to Proper Enun- 
ciation and Action in the Delivery of his 
Sermons, 181 

XX. That he should be at Pains to repeat, and 

not Read his Sermons, 194 

XXI. That a Minister of the Gospel should be soli J 

citous about the Success of his Labours, 20S 
XXII, That he should be attentive to the Daily Du- 
ties of his Function, — 1. Catechising, 209 

XXIII. Continued.— 2. Pastoral Vists, 222 

XXIV. Continued.— 3. Visiting the Sick, 228 
XXV. Continued.— 4. Discipline, &c. 2SS 

XXVI. That he should be attentive to Domestic Du- 

ties, or family Religion, 250 

XXVII. Of the Relaxations of a Ministerof the Gos- 

pel, 253 

XXVIII. Of the Duty of attending to the Ordination 

and Discipline of the Sacred Order, 27A 

XXIX. Address to Candidates for the Ministry, 283 






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